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Anzengruber's 
Portrayal  of  Character 


A  DISSERTATION  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY   OF 
THE   GRADUATE    COLLEGE   OF   THE    STATE 
UNIVERSITY    OF    IOWA    IN    PARTIAL 
FULFILLMENT    OF   THE 
REQUIREMENTS  FOR 
THE  DEGREE 
OF 


Doctor  of  Philosophy 


BY 


Emory  Nelson  Ferriss 


MAY  1908 


1911 

THE  OTTERBEIN  PRESS 

Dayton,  Ohio 


Awzfttgrubpr'a  f ortragal  of 
QUyararter 


1^1  / 


GENERAL    OUTLINE.       INTRODUCTION:       GENERAL    AIM 
OF  THE  STUDY. 


1.  The  different  types  of  characters : 

(a)   traigic  through  their  own  actions; 
\        (b)  tragic  through  actions  of  others; 

(c)  tragic  through  some  general  force; 

(d)  post- tragic  characters; 

(e)  comic  characters; 

(f)  neutral  or  common  characters; 

(g)  tragic  agents. 

2.  A  study  of  some  individual  characters,  each  repre 
senting  a  type. 

3.  Problems  with  which  the  characters  deal. 

Do  they  represent  the  problems  of  humanity  in 
general? 

4.  The  dramatic  situations:   (a)   real,   (b)   exagger- 

ated, (c)  idealistic. 
The  naturalness  of  his  characters:  (a)  are  any  of 
them  pathological?  (b)  do  they  develop  psycho- 
logically? (c)  are  they  true  to  environment? 
(d)  to  what  extent  are  they  idealized,  exagger- 
ated? 

5.  Anzengruber's  Field  and  Motive : 

(a)  Anzenginiber's  limitations  in  subject  matter; 

(b)  his  motives  in  liis  works  as  shown  by  his 
characters ; 

(c)  his  independence ; 

(d)  a  naturalistic-realist. 

6.  ronclusion:     His  power  as  a  portrayer  of  man 
and  his  emotions  and  passions. 

Bibliography. 

Life-sketch.  ^ 

III 

344203 


Table  of  Contents 


General  Outline III. 

Introduction   V. 

Chapter       I.     Different  Types  of  CliaracteT 11 

Chapter     II.     A  Study  of  Special  Characters 18 

Chapter  III.     Problems  with  which  the  Characters  Deal ...  45 

Chapter    IV.     The  Dramatic  Situations.      E'aturalnees  of 

the  CharacteiPS 50 

Chapter      V.     Anzengruber's  Field  and  Motive. 60 

Chapter   VI.     Conclusion ^ 67 


Introduction 


A  great  part  of  each  writer's  real  worth  rests  in  his 
ability  to  represent  the  truths  of  reality.  The  test  of  the 
poet,  in  the  broader  sense  of  the  word,  his  most  valid 
claim  to  have  his  name  remembered  by  posterity,  rests  in 
his  power  to  reflect  through  his  characters  the  nature  of 
the  human  soul.  The  deep  philosophical  truths  which  his 
characters  utter  need  not  make  them  worthy  of  attention. 
According  to  the  degree  in  which  they  represent  the  funda- 
mental characteristics  of  the  human  kind,  do  they  have  a 
right  to  exist. 

The  sx)ecific  environment  in  which  the  author  has 
placed  his  characters,  and  the  people  with  whom  they  are 
brought  in  contact,  and  by  whom  they  are  influenced,  may 
be  foreign  to  the  one,  who,  years,  yes,  generations  after- 
wards, studies  them.  Yet,  if  they  represent  in  their  strug- 
gles the  innate,  eternal,  strivings  of  the  human  soul,  with 
its  failures  and  successes;  if  they  seem  to  us  like  living 
men  and  women  with  all  of  the  human  emotions  and 
passions,  they  are  worthy  of,  and  fruitful  for,  study.  The 
important  point  is  that  these  characters  should  be  in 
harmony  with  their  surroundings,  and  that  their  activities 
should  be  those  true  to  such  an  environment.  It  has  been 
those  very  qualities  which  have  made  all  peoples  interested 
in  Shakespeare's  tempted  Brutus;  in  Victor  Hugo's  sorely 
tried  Jean  Valjean;  and  in  Goethe's  restless  Faust.  Each 
is  a  character  entirely  different  from  the  other  in  his 
aspirations,  in  his  trials,  and  in  his  general  environment ; 
but  each  represents  to  us  a  genuine  human  being  with  his 
constantly  changing  yet  ever  constant  problems. 

Tlie  particular  fads  of  social  customs  may  change  the 
outward  appearance  of  man;  the  environment  of  ever 
evolving  civilization  may  cause  him  to  conduct  himself 
in  a  quite  different  manner  from  that  of  his  ancestors. 


or  that  of  his  descendants.  But  beneath  it  all  the  true 
human  character  has  retained  its  distinctive  characteris- 
tics. Different  problems,  in  the  narrower  sense,  were  to 
be  solved  a  century  ago,  than  are  to  be  grappled  Avith 
to-day,  but  they  called  forth  the  same  powers  and  played 
upon  the  same  feelings  as  those  of  the  present  time. 
There  has  always  been  the  constant  humanness,  upon 
which  the  varlahle  environment  has  acted.  The  particular 
problems  which  an  author  placed  before  his  characters 
to  be  solved  may  not  have  been  the  problems  of  our  own 
day  and  country,  but  if  they  are  solved  or  combated  with 
the  same  emotions  and  passions,  as  we  would  meet  our 
specific  problems,  those  characters  are  true,  they  continue 
to  hold  interest. 

A  literary  work,  as  a  whole,  may  be  criticized,  and 
justly,  because  of  its  non-compliance  with  laws  affecting 
that  class  of  literature.  However,  in  that  work,  faulty  as 
an  organic  whole,  there  may  be  an  individual  character 
masterfully  developed.  Frequently  literary  productions 
as  such  have  been  severely  criticized,  and  especially  is 
this  true  of  dramatic  creations,  Avhere  the  particular  char- 
acters themselves  were  masterpieces.  Critics  have  declared 
the  dramas  worthless  because  they  did  not  conform  to  the 
somewhat  arbitrary  rules  of  dramatic  teclmique,  without 
taking  into  consideration  the  worth  of  the  characters  as 
individuals.  This  criticism  may,"  and  doubtless  will,  stand 
against  the  production,  yet  if  that  work  continues  to  live 
and  to  attract  attention,  there  is  somewhere  therein  a  char- 
acter, interesting  because  the  author  has  so  created  him 
that  his  experiences  strike  in  the  heart  of  each  reader  some 
chord  in  harmony.  There  must  exist  in  that  work  some- 
thing reflecting  the  problems  of  humanity.  Goethe's 
Tasso  was  always  a  failure  according  to  the  canons  of 
true  dramatic  art,  but  still  the  interest  of  each  reader  is 
held  by  the  character,  who,  with  his  poetic  nature,  was 
unable  to  stand  against  the  world's  buffetings.  And  so 
he  clings  to  the  firm  Antonio,  the  representative  of  that 
world,  with  the  words: 

VI 


"Berstend  reisst 
Der  Boden  unter  meinen  Ftiszen  auf . 
Ich  fasse  dich  mit  beiden  Armen  an/' 

The  aim  of  this  dissertation  is  not  to  present  a  criti- 
-cism  of  Ludwig  Anzengruber's  literary  work  in  all  of  its 
hreadth  and  depth ;  nor  is  it  even  to  give  a  general  criticism 
of  the  separate  works  as  entire  creations  of  literary  art. 
Incidentally  the  value  of  a  particular  work  may  be  dis- 
cussed, but  only  so  far  as  is  necessary  to  throw  light  upon 
the  importance  or  characteristics  of  some  one  character. 
The  writer  will  not  endeavor  to  trace  out  the  origin  of  any 
of  the  individual  works  of  the  author  except  as  that  may 
be  advantageous  or  desirable  for  a  clear  understanding 
of  questions  concerning  the  main  problems  of  the  study. 
The  main  theme  throughout  will  be  the  individual  charac- 
ter, and  an  inquiry  into  the  manner  and  skill  with  which 
Anzengruber  has  been  able  to  treat  his  individual  creations 
as  reflectors  of  the  human  soul. 

From  the  very  nature  of  the  subject,  the  material 
must  and  will  be  drawn  almost  entirely  from  the  author's 
OAvn  works ;  and  the  proof  for  various  opinions  and  state- 
ments will  be  based  upon  the  words  of  his  writings  rather 
than  upon  the  ideas  of  some  critic.  The  works  which 
have  been  written  about  Anzengruber  and  his  literary 
activity  have  been  studied,  however,  and  will  be  referred 
to  for  substantiating  certain  general  interpretations  of 
particular  problems. 

A  general  discussion  mil  be  given  of  the  different 
types  of  characters  to  be  found  in  Anzengruber's  works, 
not  only  in  his  dramas,  but  also  in  his  two  novels:  Bet 
^cliandfech  and  Ber  Hternstewhof.  Here  one  problem 
will  be  to  discover  to  what  extent  Anzengruber  has  failed 
to  depict  all  human  characteristics,  because  of  his  limited 
subject  matter.  Or  has  he  failed  at  all?  In  this  classifi- 
cation each  character  will  not  be  mentioned,  but  usually 
only  those  characters  which  represent  clear  examples  of 
the  various  types,  and  which  are  to  be  considered  in  the 
discussion  of  the  special  classes.     Not  all  characters  can 

VII 


be  classified  entirely  under  one  head  or  another,  but  gen- 
erally some  predoniinant  features  of  their  development 
and  experiences  will  cause  them  to  be  placed,  and  cor- 
rectly, under  one  of  the  general  heads  given  above. 

Following  this  general  treatment  of  Anzengruber's 
characters,  a  special  study  will  be  made  of  certain  indi- 
vidual characters,  each  representing  one  of  the  particular 
classes.  Here  the  attempt  will  not  be  made  to  review  the 
entire  work,  but  merely  that  part  which  closely  hinges 
about  the  character  under  consideration.  Quotations 
from  the  particular  work  Avill  be  quite  freely  used  in  order 
to  place  the  personage  forward  in  his  own  environment. 
The  study  of  each  type  character  will  be  closed  by  a 
short  general  estimate  of  that  character,  with  reasons  for 
its  place  in  the  general  classification. 

In  the  succeeding  division  of  tlie  study  the  aim  will 
be  to  give  a  critical  survey  of  Anzengrubei^'s  literary  crea- 
tions, the  main  stress  still  being  upon  the  individual  char- 
acter. The  writer  will  here  take  up  the  dramattc  situa- 
tions as  they  are  found  in  Anzengruber's  novels  and 
dramas:  for  his  two  novels  are  also  highly  dramatic  in 
their  real  essence.  First,  to  what  extent  has  the  author 
made  his  situations  ideal,  or  are  they  purely  natural,  true 
to  reality?  Then  to  what  extent  are  his  creations  simple 
and  natural;  do  they  represent  pathological  conditions, 
or  would  one  find  them  in  any  normal  society?  Are  they 
true  to  environment?  And,  finally,  under  this  general 
head  the  problem  as  to  their  psychological  development 
throughout  the  specific  work  will  receive  considerable 
attention. 

The  next  division  will  be  given  over  to  an  inquiry 
into  the  peculiar  problems  of  Anzengruber's  works.  The 
intention  here  being  to  show  to  what  degree  these  prob- 
lems represent  in  tliemselves  the  questions  of  that  par- 
ticular time  or  locality,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  what 
extent  they  are  the  things  which  still  continue  to  perplex 
the  human  race  as  a  whole.  That  is,  were  his  questions 
of  religion,  or,  rather,  of  sects;  his  problems  of  domestic 

VIII 


JB89r 


and  social  concern;  his  ideas  of  human  aspirations,  both 
of  the  selfish  and  of  the  unselfish  sort ;  peculiar  and  rele- 
vant to  the  Austrian  or  Swiss,  and  only  of  that  particular 
time?  Or  do  they  remain  at  the  present  day,  the  same, 
at  least  in  modified  forms,  and  still  hold  interest  for  the 
general  reader  and  observer?  In  other  words,  are  they 
broad  problems  of  human  society? 

Next,  a  general  estimate  of  Anzengruber  in  the  light 
of  above  results,  will  be  given.  In  this  part  of  the  study 
his  limitations  as  to  subject  matter  will  be  taken  up. 
Also  the  purpose  will  be  to  give  an  interpretation  of  his 
motives,  in  his  literary  works,  as  revealed  in  tlie  treat- 
ment of  the  various  characters,  and  from  his  own  state- 
ments, as  they  have  been  left  to  us  in  Avords  from  his^ 
pen.  In  connection  Avith  those  questions  a  discussion  as 
to.  his  place  in  German  literature,  his  independence  and 
general  characteristics  as  an  author.  In  conclusion,  his 
power  as  a  portrayer  of  man  and  his  emotions  and  pas- 
sions will  be  considered.  Was  he  a  true  dramatist,  a  man 
who  understood  how  to  develop  a  character  in  such  a  way 
as  to  show  the  effect  upon  that  particular  temi)erament,. 
of  experiences,  such  as  forced  themselves  upon  it? 


ix 


Chapter  I. 
Different  Types  of  Characters. 

Anzengruber  in  all  of  his  works,  if  we  except  the 
fraj^inent  of  the  tragedy,  Bertha  von  Frankreich,  and  the 
little  play,  Elfriede,  made  the  common  people,  those  of 
country  and  to\sTi,  the  bearers  of  his  theme.  Only  three 
of  his  plays  deal  \\dth  city  life,  and  they  represent  only 
people  of  the  common  class.  Anzenji^ruber's  ^i^reatest  suc- 
cess was  in  the  portrayal  of  the  peasant,  his  surroundings, 
his  simple  ways  of  thinking,  his  blunt  jokes,  his  supersti- 
tions, and  his  unpolished  humanness. 

In  this  limited  field  he  has  shown  to  his  reader  all 
types  of  human  character,  from  the  light-liearted,  un- 
worrying  Tomerl  in  ^tahl  und  Stein  to  the  serious,  noble- 
hearted  Grasbodenbauer  in  Der  Schandfleck;  from  the 
self-sacrificing,  somewhat  idealistic  Pfarrer  Hell  in  Der 
Pfarrer  von  Kirchfeld  to  the  selfish  Femer  in  Der  Mein- 
eidhauer^  or  Helene  in  Der  Stenvsteinhof ;  from  the  ridic- 
ulous, absent-minded  Professor  Foliantenwalzer  in 
'S  J  un  f)  fern  gift  to  the  happy,  yet  sympathetic  and  com- 
forting philosopher  Steinklopferhanns  in  Die  Kreu^el- 
schreiher;  from  the  soured,  pessimistic  Liese  in  Der  Mein- 
eidhauer,  or  Wurzelsepp  in  Der  Pfarrer  von  Kirchfeld  to 
the  wholesome,  forgiving  Reindorfer,  or  Magdalena  in  the 
novel  Der  Schandfleck;  and,  finally  from  the  gross,  dis- 
gusting villain  Gorg  Friedner  in  Hand  und  Herz  to  the 
fine,  upright  Paul  Weller  in  the  same  play,  Avhose  life 
Gorg  brought  to  ruin. 

Thus  in  characters  of  tliis  sort,  drawn  from  common 
life,  we  see  true  to  their  condition  all  the  various  feeling's 
or  passions  of  the  human  heart.  Each  one  reveals  those 
feelings  in  the  manner  and  in  the  degree  to  which  we 
should  expect  them  in  persons  of  such  surroundings  and 
of  such  a  temperament.  Compare  the  fine  soul-texture 
of  the  educated,   fellow-lovinc:  Hell,   with   his  words   of 


12  iAflz^n0ruhe^s  Portrayal  of  Character 

comfort  to  Wurzelsepp:  "Beruliige  dicli,  ich  werde  ja 
selbst  die  Leiclie  zu  Grabe  geleiten,  ich  werde  die 
Gemeinde  ftir  sie  beten  lassen  und  alle  werden  sie  Amen 
sprechen  und  Keiner  wird  ihr  die  geweihte  Scholle 
neiden/^  ^  with  the  rough,  unfeeling  expressions  of  Gorg 
Friedner.  In  the  first  place,  he  speaks  to  the  honest  man, 
Senner,  from  Avhom  seven  years  before  he  had  taken  a 
sweetheart,  married  her,  squandered  her  little  property, 
and  then  deserted  her,  and  now  has  returned  to  look  for 
her:  "Ich  dachte  durch  ein  paar  Groschen  auf  die 
schaffen  konnen,  um  die  war  mir's  zu  thun,  und  solange 
ich  damit  auslangte,  liatte  ich  ihr  Zeit  itnd  Ruh'  gelassen, 
wieder  andere  zu  sparen."  ^-  And  then  to  her  husband, 
as  he  has  long  regarded  him,  whose  happiness  he  delights 
in  destroying,  and  Avitli  whom  he  hesitates  at  no  torturing 
expressions,  not  even  baseness :  "Wenn  sie  wiederkommt, 
dann  mogt  ilir  meinethalben,  mich  geniert  das  nicht,  vor 
der  Thtire  als  Ehrenposten  schildren,  wahrend  ich  sie  zu 
mir  nehme.''  ^  Compare  those  two  short  exp^ressions 
with  that  of  Hell,  then  follow  through  the  story  of  their 
lives  and  ideals,  and  see  how  truly  each  character  has 
spoken. 

In  order  to  make  a  stud.y  of  the  individual  characters, 
it  was  necessary  to  classify  them  under  special  heads 
according  as  one  or  another  characteristic  of  tlie  creation 
itself  predominated,  or  according  to  its  relation  to  its 
environment.  In  some,  in  many  cases,  in  fact,  the  char- 
acter possesses  certain  attributes  common  to  the  s|)ecifica- 
tions  of  two  or  more  of  the  general  type  lieads.  In  such 
cases  the  most  prominent  features  have  been  taken  as  the 
criteria  for  classification.  That  is,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, the  predominant  chalracteristics  of  the  character 
would  seem  to  offer  sufiicient  reasons  for  its  position 
under  one  of  the  general  heads.  In  the  next  discussion 
the  special  characters  studied  Avill  be  selected  with  the 


(1.)     Der  Pfarrer  von  Kirchfeld,  Act  3,  Scene  7,  page  81. 
(?.)     Hand  und  Herz,  Act  1,   Scene  5,  page  252. 
(3.)     Hand  imd  Herz,  Act  4,  Scene  2,  page  302. 


Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character  13 

intention  of  showing  characters  plainly  in  one  class  or 
another. 

Tragic  Characters. 
Under  the  general  topic  of  tragic  characters  it  has 
seemed  most  convenient  to  make  a  fourfold  classification, 
with  reference  to  the  cause,  external  circumstances,  and 
the  time  of  the  tragic  climax.     That  is,  what  were  the 
causes  of  the  tragic  events  in  the  character's  life  as  we 
see  it?     Were  thej  forces  set  in  motion  by  himself,  and 
over  which  he  afterwards  lost  control;  was  the  ultimate 
€ause  to  be  discovered  in  the  particular  acts  of  certain 
persons,  over  which  he  had  no  control,  yet  from  which, 
according  to  his  position,  he  could  not  escape;  or,  finally, 
was  his  tragic  end  brought  to  its  culmination  by  some 
general  force,  perhaps  in  its  latter  stages  carried  to  com- 
pletion through  the  agency  of  certain  persons,  parts  of 
his  environment,  but  a  force  started  without  any  special 
reference  to  his  particular  destruction?     Then,  to  make 
the  study  complete,  especially  from  the  viewpoint  of  his 
psychological    development    of    character,    is    made    the 
division,  post-tragic  characters.     Conforming  to  this  type 
are  those,  who,  in  the  play  itself,  would  come  under  the 
head  of  neutral  or  philosophic  personages;  but  who,  as 
we  learn  during  the  development  of  the  plot,  have  previous 
to  the  present  scenes  themselves  passed  through  tragic 
periods.     In  the   characters  of  this  class,   Anzengruber 
has  shown  more  clearly  than  in  any  other  Avay,  perhaps, 
his  true  understanding  of  human  character,  and  the  eifect 
of  certain  tests  upon  that  character.     Steinklopferhanns 
represents  such  a  character  with  a,  tendency  to  be  affected 
in  one  direction,  while  Wurzelsepp  is  another,  with  the 
stronger  tendency  exerting  an  overbalancing  power  in  the 
other  direction.    In  the  case  of  Steinklopferhanns,  an  opti- 
mistic nature,  accustomed  to  studying  tilings  and  people, 
but  from  the  bright  side,  becomes,  through  harsh  experi- 
ences, more  sympathetic  towards  those  about  him,  if  some- 
what more  stoical  in  his  way  of  resrarding  the  course  of 
his  own  life.    On  the  other  hand,  Wurzelsepp,  no  doubt  a 


14  Anzengruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character 

man  ahvays  inclined  to  see  night's  shadows  rather  than 
the  tints  of  the  morning's  sun,  through  a  tragic  occurrence 
in  his  OAvn  life,  is  made  a  pessimist :  a  man  soured  against 
the  world,  and  especially  against  one  of  its  greatest  forces, 
the  church.  He  loses  his  sympathy  and  interest  in  his 
fellow^  men,  except  as  to  the  thought  of  revenge  upon  the 
representative  of  that  church,  until  he  is  turned  back  into 
the  brighter  path  by  the  priest,  Hell,  who  returns  him  good 
for  evil.  Thus  even  he  had  still  the  spark  of  good  in  him, 
which,  when  given  the  occasion,  began  to  glow  again. 
AnzengTuber  never  depicted  a  character  thoroughly  bad. 
As  Servaes  puts  it:  "Anzengruber's  unvergleichlichste 
Gabe  war,  tiberall  das,  was  hier,  das  Gold-kornchen, 
genannt  wtirde,  zu  finden.  Wo  andere  nur  dlirren  Boden 
zu  sehen  vermochten,  da  entdeckte  er  ein  jungfrauliches 
Ackerfeld.  Aus  scheinbar  verhiirteten  Naturen  den 
menschlichen  Klang  herauszuhorchen,  war  ihm  im  lioch- 
sten  Masse  gegeben."  ^ 


Comic  Characters. 

Under  the  classification,  comic  characters,  it  seems 
possible  to  place  Anzengruber's  personages  under  two 
heads:  those  characters  of  a  general  comic  type,  as 
Schrauder  in  Heimc/funden,  or  Kohlenbrenner-Tomerl  in 
^^S^  Jungfernpift;  or  of  the  truly  ridiculous  type  as  Pro- 
fessor Foliantenwalzer,  also  to  be  found  in  ^Sf  Jungfern- 
gift.  There  might  be  suflftcient  grounds  for  placing  such 
characters  as  Dusterer  of  G^tvissensimirm  under  a  special 
sub-head;  that  is,  those  Avho  are  comical  to  the  reader  or 
observer  from  their  selfish,  though  evident,  plotting. 
However,  they  are  better  treated  in  a  class  that  is  to  fol- 
low: the  tragic  agents.  In  the  first  sub-division  are  to  be 
found  those  personages  who  are  optimists,  who  look  upon 
the  bright  side  of  life,  who  love  a  wholesome  joke,  some- 
times even  regardless  of  consequences.  Those  people  who 
are  valuable  because  of  the  cheer  and  brightness  which 


(1.)     Praeludien:     Ein  Essaybuch,  page  52. 


Anzcngruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character  15 

thej  bring  naturally  into  the  lives  of  their  more  nervous, 
serious-minded  fellow  men.      No  one  can  read  the  comedy,. 
^S  Jimgferngift^  and  see  the  activity  of  Kohlenbrenner- 
Tomerl  along  with  his  diplomacy  in  the  uneven  wooing 
match,   for  Kegerl,   between   the  rich    Simmion-Simmerl 
and  his  rather  poor  opponent,  Kasper,  without  enjoying 
the  keen  humor  of  the  different  situations.    On  the  other 
hand,  in  Professor  Foliantenwalzer,  the  ridiculous  actions 
of  the  half -blind,  old  philologist,  so  interested  in  quaint, 
old  volumes  that  he  has  practically  lost  sight  of  the 
moving  world  about  him,  picture  to  the  reader  a  character 
truly  comical  only  through  his  exaggerated  eccentricities. 
Another  example  of  this  second  sub-head,  but  of  a  very 
much  milder  type,  is  the  nervous,  shrinking,  little  man, 
Fahnlein,  in  Heimg'funden.    He  is  entirely  undiplomatic 
in  all  that  he  undertakes  to  do  with  those  about  him. 
Though  his  cause  is  serious,  and  the  reader  or  observer 
cannot  help  but  sympathize  with  him,  yet  at  the  same 
time  he  must  smile,  yea,  laugh  at  the  nervous  awkward- 
ness of  the  character.    In  the  same  scenes  with  Fahnlein, 
Anzengruber  has  placed  before  us  a  comic  character,  but 
altogether   unlike   the   former,    the   large,    good-natured 
Schrauder,  one  of  those  characters  who  never  get  "blue," 
but  can  see  the  optimistic  side  of  almost  any  calamity. 
Fahnlein   is  scared  at  Doctor  Hammer's;  financial   con- 
dition, and  especially  because  in  the  Doctor's  care  is  all 
of  his  rainy-day  surplus.    He  tells  Schrauder  about  it,  as^ 
he  has  all  of  his  troubles  for  years.     Finally,  Schrauder, 
who  has  just  told  Fahnlein  that  he  always  sees  black,  to 
quiet  the  little  man,  offers  to  ^\^ger  that  everything  is 
still  safe.    Fahnlein  answers:    "Eh,  Unsinnwetten:  Wenn 
ich  gewinne,  so  haben  wir  alle  miteinander  nichts.     Mit 
was  zahlen  sie  denn  dann?"     Schrauder  replies:    "Eben, 
ich  wette  ja  nur  auf  Gewinn,  zu  verlieren  habe  ich  nichts, 
als  hochstens  bisschen  Fett  und  um  das  thate  es  mir  leid^ 
es  kleidet   mich  so  hlibsch."  ^ 


(1.)     Heimg'funden,  Act  1,  Scene  1. 


16  Anzengriiher's  Portrayal  of  Character 

Neutral  or  Common  Characters. 

A  very  large  number  of  Anzengruber's  characters  can 
t)e  classified  in  the  next  division,  neutral  or  common  char- 
acters. By  that  terminology^  is  meant  those  personages 
who  are  neither  tragic  nor  humorous,  at  least  to  any 
marked  degree.  They  correspond  to  the  general  type  of 
people  about  us.  Usually  we  find  in  their  lives  nothing 
deserving  the  designation  tragic;  or,  if  it  is  enough  to  be 
tragic  to  a  more  highly  strung  nature,  the  heroes  of 
tragedy,  these  characters  pass  through  the  ordeal  without 
any  destroying  effect.  Ofttime«s  their  nature  is  mellowed 
by  the  trials,  yet  the  experience  has  caused  no  real  rupture 
in  tlieir  nervous  organism. 

Such  characters  are  skillfully  used  by  Anzengruber, 
true  to  his  dramatic  material.  These  neutral  characters 
are  the  leavening  force  in  the  communities  portrayed  in 
his  stories  and  plays.  Often  they  take  very  prominent 
parts,  and  likewise  very  interesting,  in  the  action  of  the 
story.  Notice,  for  example,  the  part  of  Reindorfer  in 
Drr  Scliandflcclx',  or  Horlacherlies  in  G'wissenswurm 
Each  of  the  characters  of  this  type  moves  along,  a  neces- 
sary figure,  influencing  and  being  influenced  by  the  main 
personages  of  the  story.  Several  of  such  characters  show 
good  evidences  of  the  poet's  power  to  depict  psychological 
-development.  Examples  are  Martin  Kernhofer  in  Alte 
Wiener;  the  Sternsteinhofbauer  in  Der  Stenvstemhof  : 
Reindorfer  in  Der  Schandfleck;  Thomas  Hammer  in 
Eeimg'funden,  or  Vroni  in  Der  Meineidhauer. 

The  Tragic  Agent, 

The  last  and  very  important  type  of  character  is  the 
tragic  agent;  that  is,  that  character  who,  by  his  or  her 
acts,  causes  the  tragic  climax.  As  one  might  expect,  this 
type  of  character  is  the  least  pleasant  to  study,  yet  not 
the  least  interesting.  Such  a  character  is  fascinating 
because  of  the  psychology  of  his  development.  This  devel- 
opment is  sometimes  given  to  the  reader  or  observer 
directly  by  the  role  which  the  character  has  in  the  novel 


Anze^iyruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character  17 

or  play  itself.  Usually,  however,  the  history  of  his  life 
is  skillfully  brought  forward  by  the  author,  either  through 
the  words  of  the  character  himself,  or  through  those  of 
the  other  characters.  He  is  the  person  who  consciously, 
in  a  premeditated  way,  performs  an  act  tending  to  result 
in  the  tragic  destruction  of  a  fellow-being. 

Individual  examples  of  such  characters  are  Gorg 
Friedner  in  Ha^ncl  und  Herz,  Toni  and  Helene  in  Der 
Sternsteinhof ,~  Leonhardt  in  Der  Ledige  Hof,  Eisner  in 
Stahl  und  ^tein,  the  elder  Florian  Weninger  in  Der 
^cliandfleck,  and  Johanna  in  Die  Trutzige. 

In  the  next  division  of  the  study  a  short  review  will 
be  given  of  individual  characters,  each  representing  one 
of  these  general  classes.  In  each  case  the  purpose  being 
to  show  the  basis  for  such  a  classification,  as  a  means  of 
analyzing  Anzengruber's  characters,  also  to  show  his 
method  and  ability  to  develop  dramatic  characters. 


Chapter  II. 
A  Study  of  Special  Characters, 

Characters  tragic  through  their  owti  actions.  In  na 
other  place  does  Anzengruber  show  such  a  true  insight 
into  human  life  and  its  springs  of  action  as  in  the 
Meirieidbauer  on  the  one  hand,  and  Katharine  in  Hand 
und  Herz  on  the  other.  Each  represents  a  person  brought 
to  tragic  situations  through,  or  principally  through, 
actions  of  his  or  her  own  choosing.  Yet  how  different  are 
the  real  motives  in  the  tragedy  of  the  two  people?  The 
actions  of  Ferner,  right  up  to  the  time  of  his  final  de- 
struction, were  of  the  kind  to  lead  him  on  into  tragic 
guilt.  But  with  Katharine  it  was  otherwise;  one  act,  her 
marriage  with  Gorg  Friedner,  was  the  final  cause  of  all 
her  woe. 

Gorg  Friedner  had  been  known  as  the  dance-king 
(Tanzbodenkonig),  whom  no  maiden  could  bring  under 
h.er  charms.  Katharine  had  tried,  and,  much  to  her  later 
5ioprow,  was  successful.  They  were  married  and  Gorg 
remained  with  her  until  he  had  spent  her  little  inheri- 
tance, then  he  left  her  to  take  up  a  disgraceful,  roaming 
life.  A  part  of  it  he  spent  in  prison.  For  six  years  his 
wife  heard  nothing  of  him.  In  the  meantime  she  went 
into  a  quiet  valley  in  one  of  the  Swiss  districts  and  became 
a  servant  in  the  household  of  Paul  Weller.  He  loved  her, 
and  finally  asked  her  to  marry  him.  She  cared  for  him 
also,  but  her  husband  might  still  be  living.  At  last,  after 
much  thought,  she  did  the  thing  which  she  should  not 
have  done,  at  least  without  telling  Weller  her  past  history. 
She  became  the  ^dfe  of  Paul  Weller.  Katharine's  story 
itself  is  very  touching:  "TTnd  als  ich  auf  meine  Kammer 
ging,  da  riss  ich  hastig  das  Fenster  auf,  beklommen  war 
mir  das  Herz — ich  dachte;  Gorg  sei  wohl  tot — nur  Gott, 
den  Menschen  nicht,  sei  ich  Rechenschaft  schuldig.  und 
Gott  sei  gnadig,  seine  Hand  hatte  mich  ja  dem  Weller 


Anzetigruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character  19 

zugeftihrt.  Uber  der  Kerzenflamme  verbrannte  ich 
meinen  Trauschein — die  Asche  sank — leise  pochte  es  an  der 
Th'tire;  Gute  Nacht,  meine  Kathe — von  gj^sen  strich  die 
wurzige  Abendluft  herein — der  Mond,  er  lag  so  still  tiber 
der  Erde — ^alles  schwieg — in  dieses  grosse  Schweigen  legte 
ich  wie  in  Gottes  Hande  all  meine  Vergangenheit  zurtick — 
ein  neues  Leben — eine  neue  Seele."  ^ 

For  years  afterward  fortune  had  been  kind  to  her, 
and  as  the  wife  of  Paul  Weller  she  had  been  given  a 
glimpse  into  perfect  happiness.  Suddenly,  however,  she 
was  rushed  on  to  a  tragic  end  by  the  incidents  simulta- 
neous with  the  reappearance  into  her  life  of  her  real  hus- 
band, Gorg  Friedner. 

As  a  study  of  tragic  character,  and  one  with  a  true 
psychological  development,  Mathias  Ferner  takes  a  place 
well  in  the  front  rank.  A  person  can  almost  see  him  as  he 
appears  in  the  various  scenes  which  are  indices  to  his 
character.  In  each  he  has  taken  one  step  farther  toward 
the  final  act,  the  shooting  of  his  own  son,  which,  in  com- 
bination with  the  revived  scenes  of  his  former  deeds,  as 
given  in  the  story  of  the  Baumahm,  causes  his  highly 
tragic  death. 

Mathias  Feraer,  the  younger  of  the  two  sons  of  the 
wealthy  Kreuzweghofbauer,  had  become  the  possessor  of 
his  father's  estate  at  the  death  of  his  older  brother.  He 
had  not  gained  this  wealth  honestly,  however.  His 
brother  had  two  illegitimate  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl, 
to  whom  he  had  intended  to  give  the  property,  but  this 
brother  had  died  in  a  hospital  in  Vienna  when  only  the 
boy,  Jakob,  was  with  him.  Before  the  elder  brother's 
death  a  will  had  been  drawn  up,  making  the  two  children 
the  heirs.  This  will  had  been  sent  to  Mathias,  now  made 
the  guardian,  but  Mathias  did  not  give  it  to  the  court. 
He  even  gave  false  oath  as  to  its  non-existence;  the  begin- 
ning of  the  tragic  events  of  his  life.  Finally,  when  a 
letter  sent  to  Vienna  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the 


(1.)     Hand  und  Herz,  Act  3,  Scene  3. 


20  Anzengruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character 

wdll  appeared  to  have  been  lost,  it  being  the  only  evidence 
left  which  would  show  that  there  ever  was  such  a  paper, 
the  desire  to  possess  the  estates  gained  the  upper  hand. 
He  burned  the  will,  but  was  seen  in  the  act  by  his  own 
little  son.  Having  gone  too  far  to  turn  back,  he  sent  this 
son  away  to  school,  where  the  boy  remained  until  a 
grown  man. 

The  time  of  the  son's  return  to  the  Kreuzweghof  is 
also  the  period  represented  in  the  action  of  the  play.  In 
the  interim,  Ferner  has  prospered  in  ever\^  way,  finan- 
cially, and  has  even  gained  a  Avide  reputation  throughout 
the  country  as  a  man  of  extreme  piety.  Tiiese  facts  make 
the  incidents  of  the  play  more  highly  tragic.  Time  has 
fixed  conditions  so  that,  no  matter  what  happens,  Ferner 
must  overcome  or  defeat  ii*  and  maintain  his  position. 

Yroni,  his  brother's  daughter,  has  just  left  his  neigh- 
bor, the  Adamshofbauer,  and  gone  back  to  her  old  grand- 
mother, the  "alte  Burgerliese."  She  has  just  arrived  when 
Jakob,  who  has  become  a  vagabond,  returns  home  to  die. 
As  Vroni  tells  Ferner :  "Ich  hab's  aiis  seine  letzen  Wort', 
dasz's  mit  ihm  nit  so  'kommen  war'  war'  der  dort  (the 
Meineidbauer)  ein  anderer  g'wessen."  ^  Jakob  had 
brought  a  prayer-book  with  liim,  once  his  father's,  and 
he  gives  it  Yroni.  In  this  book  she  finds  the  letter 
acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  will.  Although  her 
brother  lies  dead  in  her  2:rand mother's  house,  Yroni  takes 
tlie  letter  iind  goes  to  Kreuzweghof,  the  same  day  that 
Ferner's  son  Franz  returns.  Franz  and  his  father  have 
just  had  a  long  discussion  of  the  father's  past  deeds,  and 
Franz  has  ended  with  the  words:  "Es  wiire  uns  Avohler, 
alter  Mann,  warst  du  dein  Lebelang  weniger,  was  du 
fromm  nennst,  gCAvesen,  aber  immer  ehrlich  geblieben."  ^ 

This  is  the  ominous  propliecy  of  closely  following  dis- 
asters. Here  Yroni  appears,  and,  like  a  thunderbolt,  fall 
her  words  upon  the  ears  of  Ferner.  She  has  a  revenge  to 
take  for  past  wrongs,  and  is  not  gentle  in  the  way  she 

(1.)     Der  Meineidbauer,  Act  2,  Scene  4. 
(2.)     Ibid.     Act  2,  Scene  3. 


Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character  21 

tells  of  the  discovered  letter :  "Als  ehrlicher  Feind  koniiu 
ich  auch,  dir  in's  G'sicht  z'  sag'n,  dass's  aus  is  mit  'n 
Landfrieden  zwischen  uns  zwei,  und  was  dich  darfst 
g'fasst  machen.  Die  nachste  Sonn'  sielit  mich  bereits  auf 
'n  Weg  nach  der  Kreisstadt.  Ich  will  hier  sitz'i^  auf  'n 
Kreuzweghof,  der  unser  is  von  Gotts  und  Rechts  Willen 
und  du  sollst  hinaus  auf  den  namlichen  Weg,  den  du  vor 
acht  Jahr'n  mein'  Mutter  g'schickt  hast  in  Not  und 
Schand.  Diesmal  gelt's  nit  gegen  a  arm'  Weib  und  zwa 
Waserln,  dosmals  gilt's  gegen  dein'  eigen'  Handschrift 
und  Wort  auf  z'kommen.  Meineidbauer.  Ich  hab'  den 
Brief,  den  du  damal  an  Vatern  ins  Spital  g'schrieben 
hast."  *  For  a  moment  Ferner  is  too  amazed  to  speak, 
then,  true  to  nature,  he  begins  to  think  of  a  chance  to 
escape,  and  gasps  the  answer:  "Dos  is  nit — das  kann  nit 
sein."  In  reply  Vroni  repeats  some  words  from  the  letter, 
and  the  result  is  the  utter  collapse  of  Ferner  for  an 
instant. 

Vroni  leaves  him  at  this  j)oint,  and  returns  to  her 
grandmother's.  Here  Franz,  who  has  fallen  in  love  with 
Vroni — the  bright  vein  of  the  play — comes  to  guard  her 
from  the  almost  mad  actions  of  his  father.  Something 
tells  him  that  Ferner  will  risk  everything  to  gain  the 
letter,  and  he  is  anxious  about  Vroni's  safety.  He  says 
to  Vroni:  "Hat  er  aucti  den  Mut  sinken  lassen,  die  Ver- 
zweiflung  richtet  ihn  wieder  auf.  Was  einer  wagt,  der  ver- 
zAveifelt,  das  wagt  er."  ^ 

The  night  was  dark  and  threatening,  and  Vroni  sends 
Franz  away,  i>ersuaded  that  his  father  will  attempt  noth- 
ing that  night.  But  Franz  is  no  sooner  gone  than  Ferner 
appears  with  a  musket,  and  threatens  to  shoot  Vroni 
doT\Ti  if  the  letter  is  not  given  to  him  immediately.  Fright- 
ened for  a  moment,  her  woman's  presence  of  mind  saves 
her  when  she  tells  Ferner  that  Franz  has  taken  the  fateful 
letter.  Ferner  has  passed  Franz  in  the  dark,  and  so, 
believing    the    ruse    starts    off    hurriedly    to    find    liim. 


(1.)     Der  Meineidbauer,  Act  2,  Scene  4. 
(2.)     Ibid.     Act  2,  Scene  8. 


22  Afizetigruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character 

He  meets  the  young  man  at  a  bridge  over  a 
creek,  and  his  tense  mjental  condition  is  most  clearly 
shown  in  his  own  words.  His  own  psychological  condition 
almost  compels  him  to  perform  the  last  tragic  .  act. 
"Franz,  uni  unser  aller  Seelenheil  willen,  trutz  ^i^^^fnT" 
jetzt  nit,  giiy  ihn  ^raus  den  Brief,  icli  muss  'n  hab'n. 
Schau;  dein  alter  Vater  bitt  dich  mit  aufgehobenen 
Handen,  treib  ihn  nit  zur  Verzweiflung;  ich  weiss  nit, 
was  alles  g'schehn  konnt ;  Franz,  wo  ich  jetzt  mich  selber 
nit  kenn',  zwischen  Furcht  und  Hoffnung."  ^  Franz 
causes  the  discharge  of  these  highly  wrought  up  feelings 
by  his  answer  and  actions.  Pushing  his  father  forcibly 
from  him,  he  strides  away,  saying:  "Ich  hab  mit  euch 
nichts  mehr  gemein."  ^  The  father  answers:  "Bei 
alien  Heiligen,  Franz,  wenn  du  nit  stillhaltst  und  den 
Brief  herausgibst,  ich  schiess  dich  herunter  wie  ein 
Gems'.''  Franz  replies:  "Denk,  dass  die  Finger  an  den 
Schlosse  deiner  Biichse,  die  Schwurfinger  sind — und  dann 
heb^ — hebe  den  Arm,  wenn  ciu  kannst."  ^  The  result  is 
the  climax  in  tlie  tragic  acts  of  Ferner,  the  shooting  and 
death,  as  he  thinks,  of  his  son.  He  has  saved  himself, 
however,  for  Franz  falls  into  the  mountain  stream,  and 
thus  Ferner  thinks  the  letter  will  also  be  destroyed.  "Bis 
zum  scharfen  G'fall  dort  tlber  die  Kanten  bleibt  kein 
Stuck  von  ihm  ganz — den  Brief  verschwemmt's.''  And  the 
last  thought,  "den  Aufweiss  gegen  mich  und  den  Mitwisser 
bringt  kein  mehr  ans  licht."  * 

Now,  almiost  \crazed,  he  reaches  the  house  of  the 
Baumahri,  who  is  telling  a  story,  almost  exactly  identical 
with  his  (Ferner's)  own  life  experiences.  Ferner,  moved 
by  the  part  of  the  story  which  he  has  heard,  begs  for  its 
continuation.  He  has  always  made  a  pretense  of  being 
very  religious,  trusting  all  to  the  saving  power  of  con- 
fession. In  the  story,  the  priest  proved  to  be  the  Prince 
of  Darkness,  who  had  been  continually  obtaining  posses- 


(1.)  Der  Meineidbauer,  Act  2,  Scene  10. 

(2.)  Ibid. 

(3.)  Ibid. 

(4.)  Ibid. 


Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character  23 

sion  of  the  Bauer,  and  finally  tells  him:  "Ich  war  dein 
Oberer  und  Herr  von  dem  Augenblick,  wo  du  vorm  Kreuz 
•die  Wahrheit  abg' — schworen  hast, — ich  weiss,  du  mochtst 
jetzt  a  Kreuz  schlag-'n  und  dos  konnt'  dich  auch  d^erretten, 
wann  d'Hand  noch  dein  war',  aber  du  Depp,  du  vergisst, 
dass  die  Finger,  die  du  dabei  z'samm' — falten  musst  d' 
Schwurfinger  sein,  so  heb'  den  Arm,  wann  d'  kannst."  ^ 
This  is  too  much  for  the  frenzied  man,  and  with  a  very 
violent  speech,  he  perishes -from  an  apoplectic  stroke. 
Thus  ends  the  very  highly  tragic  life  of  a  person  whose 
own  actions  throughout  years  have  been  continually 
working  together  for  his  final  destruction.  He  is  a  man 
led  on  toward  his  own  ruin  by  two  forces.  One  of  these 
forces  is  his  desire  for  greater  earthly  possessions,  and 
the  resulting  esteem  of  his  neighbors;  and  the  second  lies 
in  the  necessity  of  keeping  secret  the  facts  of  his  first 
wrong-doing,  the  burning  of  his  brother's  will,  together 
with  the  events  connected  with  that  burning.  He  always 
carries  himiself  farther  and  farther  toward  the  tragic 
climax,  .till,  at  last,  it  becomes  psychologically  impossible 
for  him  to  save  himself  from  the  destructive  power  of  the 
forces  which  he,  years  before,  had  deliberately  set  in 
motion. 

Characters  Tragic  Through  the  Actions  of  Others. 

In  the  study  of  characters  tragic  through  the  actions 
of  others,  the  attempt  shall  not  be  made  to  show  that  the 
character  did  nothing  having  a  direct  relation  to  his 
<^ondition,  but  that  the  things  which  directly  brought 
about  his  undoing  were  given  impetus  by  some  other 
character.  An  instance  can  scarcely  be  cited  where  some 
net  of  the  character  would  not  be  an  agent  in  his  own 
life's  tragedy.  But  in  some  characters  the  environment 
or  conditions  which  make  those  acts  tragic  are  developed 
l)y   other  persons.     In  Anzengruber's  works  there  is  a 


<1. )     Der  Meineidbauer,  Act  3,  Scene  3. 


24  Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character 

goodly  number  of  characters  which  must  be  classified 
under  this  head.  Good  examples  of  such  are  Florian 
Weninger  in  the  novel  Der  Schandfleck;  Muckerl  Klee- 
binder  in  Der  Sternstemhof ;  Agnes  Bernhofer  in  Der 
Ledige  Hof;  Franzel  in  Der  Fleck  aiif  der  Ehr^;  and  the 
Pfarrer  Hell  in  Der  Pfarrer  von  Kirchfeld. 

The  later  will  be  considered  under  this  head  because 
his  final  trial  is  entirely  the  result  of  the  machinations  of 
other  persons:  Wurzelsepp,  Graf  von  Finsterberg,  and 
others.  In  one  respect,  this  character  differs  from  all 
others  among  AnzengTuber's  personages.  He  is  to  quite 
an  extent  idealistic.  Yet,  not  to  the  extent  of  making 
him  an  impossibility,  if  measured  by  the  standard  of 
reality.  In  Franzel,  of  the  play,  Der  Fleck  auf  der  Ehr'^ 
is  depicted  a  character  not  at  all  ideal,  who  is  almost 
driven  to  self-destruction  through  false  charges,  known 
to  certain  persons  to  be  false.  In  the  story,  Wissen  macht 
Herzweli,  the  original  form  of  the  play,  the  tragic  charac- 
ter, Franzel,  does  drown  herself  as  the  result  of  apparent 
disgrace.  In  tlie  play,  however,  she  is  saved  by  means 
of  tlie  circumstances  surrounding  the  funeral  service  of 
her  former  accuser. 

Pfarrer  Hell  had  gained  the  Gemeinde  of  Kirchfeld  as 
his  charge,  the  place  having  become  his,  to  a  great  extent, 
through  the  influence  of  Graf  von  Finsterberg,  and  Propst 
von  Elfrieden.  He  found  tlie  community  somewhat  lax 
in  many  ways,  but  as  a  result  of  honest  efforts  everythinfi^ 
had  changed  for  the  better.  His  idea  was  to  help  man- 
kind through  love,  as  he  says  to  Wurzelsepp:  "Es  ist  die 
Liebe — es  ist  die  Menschenliebe."  ^  Again,  he  states 
to  Finsterberg  when  the  latter  censures  him  for  not  taking 
part  in  the  politics  of  the  church,  and  even  threatens  to 
have  him  excommunicated  if  he  refuses  to  do  so,  as 
follows:  "Die  Macht  der  Kirche  ist  doch  der  Glaube  und 
der  wohnt  in  Menschenherzen,  hier  herrscht  die  Kirche 
als  Friedensfiirsten  und  hier  auch  ist  ihr  Kampf — gefild 


(1.)     Der  Pfarrer  von  Kirchfeld,  Act  3,  Scene  7. 


Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character  25- 

gegen  die  finstern  Leidenschaften  und  Laster. — Icli  hab" 
gesagt  ftir  eure  Feinde  sollt  ihr  beten — sag  ich  nun  das^ 
Gegen teil?  Soil  ich  statt  Trost  den  Zweifel  bieten,  statt 
Priede  Zwiespalt  saen  V^  ^ 

Although  Finsterberg  threatens  to  have  him  cast  outy 
deprived  of  his  people  whom  he  has  learned  to  love,  he 
remains  steadfast  in  his  determination  to  remain  outside^ 
the  secular  fight.  Thus  begins  the  first  force  to  work 
against  him. 

The  old  priest  from  St.  Jakob  at  this  time  visits  the^ 
house  of  Hell,  and  with  the  purpose  to  have  placed  in  the 
latter's  household  as  a  servant  a  maiden  from  his  parish, 
recently  an  orphan.  Hell,  whose  housekeeper,  Brigitte, 
is  getting  old,  is  glad  to  get  a  young  and  able  helper  for 
her,  so  he  readily  agrees  to  take  Annerl  into  his  house. 
The  girl  is  beautiful  and  lovable,  and  becomes  one  of  the- 
active  forces,  though  unwittingly,  in  the  tragedy-  of  HelPf? 
life.  Even  the  unsuspecting  old  priest  seems  to  recognize- 
this  danger  when  he  sees  them  together  for  the  first  time, 
and  when  he  says :  "O,  du  lieber  Gott,  rechne  mir's  nicht 
an,  wenn  ich  da  etwa  eine  Dummheit  gemacht  haben 
sollte.''2 

At  the  Inn,  when  on  her  way  to  the  parsonage,  Annerl 
met  AVurzelsepp,  who  inquired  about  her  destination,  and 
then  a<*companied  her  to  the  pastor's  home.  Now,  Wurzel- 
isepp,  whovse  life  has  been  made  daric  because  of  dis- 
appointment in  the  girl  of  his  choice,  that  is,  he  had 
chosen  a  Lutheran  bride,  and  the  former  priest  had  for- 
bidden the  marriage,  is  the  sworn  enemy  of  any  person 
wearing  the  priestly  robes.  It  was  under  that  symbol 
that  his  life  had  been  embittered.  He  sees  in  this  girl-s 
going  into  the  house  of  Hell  a  chance  for  revenge  upon  a 
wearer  of  the  priestly  cloak.  He  even  makes  a  mysterious 
statement  to  the  Wirt  with  that  purport  as  he  and  AnnerT 
leave  the  Inn. 

The  young  priest,  without  realizing  his  feelings 
toward  Annerl,  and  without  any  suspicion  of  the  dangers? 

~CL)     Der  Pfarrer  von  Kirchfeld,  Act  1,  Scene  2. 
(2.)     Ibid.     Act  1,  Scene  8. 


26  Anzengruber's  Portrayal  of  Character 

lurking  in  the  future,  comes  to  like  her  more  and  more. 
She  reminds  him,  as  he  thinks,  of  his  sister,  and  fills  the 
void  made  in  his  own  life  by  this  sister's  departure.  Each 
without  admitting  it  to  one  another,  or  to  their  own 
hearts,  is  more  and  more  irresistibly  drawn  toward  the 
other.  Finally,  in  a  very  pretty  scene,  Hell  receives  the 
promise  from  Annerl  that  she  will  ever  remain  in  his 
house,  and  as  a  token  he  gives  her,  as  her  o^^ti,  a  beautiful 
gold  cross,  once  belonging  to  his  dear  mother.  She 
reecives  the  cro^s,  and  is  told  that  she  may  wear  it  any 
place  it  suits  her  to  do  so. 

In  the  next  scene  Hell,  in  a  monologue,  unconsciously 
shows  how  much  he  has  come  to  regard  the  upright,  beau- 
tiful maiden ;  what  her  presence  means  to  him  in  the  way 
of  happiness  and  inspiration.  Yet  he  is  entirely  pure  in 
all  of  his  thoughts.  He  even  thinks  how  careful  he  must 
be:  "Ich  muss  auf  der  Hut  sein  vor  mir  selbst,  muss 
jedes  Fleckchen,  das  vielleicht  Entfernteren  unbemerkbar 
ist,  aber  der  Nahe  doch  tibel  auffallt,  sorgfaltig  in  all 
meinem  Denken  und  Handeln  loschen.''  ^  His  soliloquy 
is  interrupted  b}^  Wurzelsepp,  who  has  been  hiding  about 
the  "Pfarre'^  since  midday,  and  Avho  has  heard  the  entire 
conversation  between  the  priest  and  Anna.  Something 
of  the  sort  was  that  for  which  he  was  waiting,  because, 
as  he  tells  Hell :  "Weil  ich  dein  Feind  bin."  Wurzelsepp 
goes  on  to  tell  Avliy  he  is  the  young  priest's  enemy;  what 
great  injury,  twenty  years  before,  had  been  done  to  him 
under  the  power  of  the  priestly  robes.  As  he  says :  "Seit 
damals  bin  ich  in  keiner  Kirch'n  mehr  g'wes'n  und  mein' 
Mutter — die  erst  aus  Angst  um  micli  und  dann  von  selbst 
z'  Haus  g'blieb'n  is.  Freilich,  a  Mtih's  kost's  schon,  bis  's 
einer  so  weit  bringt,  aber  ich  hab's  so  weit  'bracht,  und 
jetzt  probier's  du   auch,   Pfarrer."  ^ 

In  a  later  place  Wurzelsepp  reviews  all  the  excellent 
qualities  of  Hell,  and  states  the  fact  that,  because  he  still 
remained  aloof,  the  people  of  Kirch f eld  had  not  liked  him. 


(1.)     Der  Pfarrer  von  Kirchfeld,  Act  2,  Scene  3. 
<2.)     Ibid.     Act  2,  Scene  4. 


-  Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character  27 

But  the  idea  of  revenge  upon  the  institution  for  which 
Hell  stands  is  too  deeply  rooted  to  be  given  up.  "Jetzt 
aber  bist  du  da,  wo  ich's  den  Kirehfeldem  unter  die 
Nasen  reiben  kann,  dass  du  nit  besser  bist  als  ein 
anderer.  Hilft  dir  alles  nix,  die  Dirn  ist  dein  Ungluck. 
Du  kannst  die  Dim  entweder  in  Unehr'n  halten,  dann  bist 
du  den  Kirchfeldern  ihr  Mann  nimmer,  oder  du  kannst  s' 
mit  Herzleid  fortziehen  lassen,  dann  ist  dir  Kirchfeld  und 
die  ganze  Welt  nit  mehr.  Kein  dritten  Weg  hast  net."  ^ 
Thus  Wurzelsepp  leaves,  and  begins  to  tell  all  the  people 
of  Kirchfeld  about  the  fall  of  the  man,  who  for  some 
time  now  has  been  their  ideal.  True  to  the  nature  of 
country  communities,  these  things  are  believed  in  their 
worst  light,  and  Hell  is  soon  practically  without  a  vestige 
of  influence. 

A  young  fellow,  who  before  has  sought  the  hand  of 
Annerl,  hears  the  story,  but  does  not  believe  it.  However, 
to  save  the  high  esteem  of  Hell,  and  also  to  win  Annerl, 
he  goes  to  the  priest's  house,  tells  Annerl  all  about  the 
rumors,  and  what  it  all  means  to  Hell  if  she  remains 
there.  She  at  last  realizes  the  truth  of  his  statements, 
and  as  the  only  way,  to  the  popular  mind,  at  least,  to 
clear  her  dear  friend  Hell,  accepts  MicheFs  offer  of  mar- 
riage. Hell  is  asked  by  Annerl  to  i>erform  the  marriage 
ceremony,  a  thing,  which,  after  a  great  effort,  he  promises 
to  do.  Meanwhile  Sepp's  mother  has  drowned  her- 
self, and  should,  according  to  custom,  be  refused  a  place 
in  the  burial  ground,  and  also  the  burial  services.  Sepp, 
driven  to  desperation,  returns  to  Hell,  the  man  whom  he 
has  wronged  so,  and  begs  him  not  to  deny  his  mother  the 
regular  services,  and  offers  to  pay  him  if  he  allows  the 
burial  to  take  place  in  the  regular  manner.  Hell  replies : 
*^Sepp,  Sepp,  was  willst  du  denn  aus  mir  machen?  Nicht 
dir,  noch  irgend  einem  wei^ere  ich  die  geweihte  Erde  fur 
seine  Toten.  Ich  werde  ia  selbst  die  Leiche  zu  Grabe 
gel ei ten,  ich  werde  ftir  die  Tote  sprechen."  ^     Thus  he 


(1.)     Der  Pfarrer  von  Kirchfield,  Act  2,  Scene  4. 
<2.)     Ibid.    Act  3,  Scene  7. 


28  Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character 

wins  Sepp,  who  can  only  say :    "So  thust  du  an  mir?    Dai^ 
vergiss  ich  dir,  all  mein  Lebtag  net/' 

The  day  for  the  wedding  is  dawning,  and  so  early^ 
Hell  has  been  in  the  forest  on  the  mountain,  to  calm  him- 
self for  the  part  Avhich  he  is  to  play.  His  extreme  pain 
is  seen  from  the  fact  that,  to  himself,  he  is  picturing  the 
scene  that  occurred  the  night  when  he  had  given  Annerl 
the  gold  cross.  Thus  lost  in  thought,  scarcely  knowing 
what  he  is  doing,  he  arrives  near  the  church,  and  is  met 
by  the  bridal  procession.  He  cannot  follow  them  directly 
into  the  church,  but  must  wait  to  calm  himself.  The 
scene  here  is  most  powerful.  As  Hell  battles  with  his  own 
feelings:  "Es  wird  mir  doch  schwerer  als  ich  dachte — 
vor  den  Altar  zu  treten,  das  entscheidende  btirdende  Wort 
ihr  abzufordem.  O  du  vermagst  es  niclit.  Du  musst  es 
konnen."  ^  Thus  he  enters  the  church  to  give  the  loved 
one  to  another. 

While  the  ceremony  is  taking  place,  the  Schulmeister 
of  Altottinger  arrives  with  the  papers  of  HelPs  excom- 
munication, gotten  through  the  machinations  of  Finster- 
berg.  By  this  time  the  Kirchf elder,  led  by  Wurzelsepp, 
are  stanch  adherents  of  the  noble  Hell,  and  the  company 
with  the  ban  is  almost  mobbed.  Here  the  ^vedding  party 
comes  out  of  the  churcli,  however,  and  the  priest  demands 
to  be  given  the  papers  Avhich  are  for  him.  Sepp,  who  had 
the  parchment,  desists,  but  finally  gives  it  to  his  now 
dearest  friend,  w^ho  reads  of  his  own  excommunication. 
And  just  after  he  had  given  away  Annerl.  He  is  powerless 
for  a  time:  "Dieses  Opfer — umsonst — verhohnt."  Now 
hopeless,  he  has  in  mind  to  commit  suicide.  From  what 
he  says,  this  intention  is  divined  by  Annerl,  w^ho  speaks 
to  him  about  it,  and  later  remarks :  "So  lang  Kirchfelder 
leben,  die  dich  kennt  hab'n  wird  von  dir  alleweil  die  Red^ 
sein  als  von  ein'  guten,  braven,  rechtschaffenen  Mann, 
der  so  vor  ang'leucht't  hat,  dass  man  ihm  getrost  Tritt 
ftir    Tritt    hat    nachgehen    konnen,    bis    zum    letzten.'V^ 

(1.)     Per  Pfarrer  von  Kirchfeld,  Act  4,  Scene  3. 
(2.)     Ibid,  Act  4,  Scene  7.  - 


Anzenyruher's  Portrayul  of  Ckaraetcr  29 

The  play  closes  with  HelPs  deteriiiination  to  <^(>  on  to 
answer  the  false  charo^es.  "Ich  trete  meine  Strafe  an  und 
warte  still,  was  niichsten  Zeiten  bringen."  Then,  turning 
to  the  bridal  couple,  he  says  the  final  words:  "Ich  segne 
^uch." 

In  the  person  of  Hell,  the  author  has  represented  a 
character' comjpelled  to  pass  through  soul-trying  experi- 
ences because  of  the  unfriendly  acts  of  other  people.  His 
manhoo<l  itself  has  caused  him  to  do  the  things  which 
gave  them  the  chance  to  attack  him.  If  he  had  turned 
from  his  convictions,  he  might  have  escaped.  As  it  is, 
forces  are  sent  against  him  which  destroy  the  work  which 
be  lias  done,  and  almost  overwhelm  him  just  at  the 
moment  when  he  has  given  away  his  best  inheritance,  as 
:a  man. 

Characters  Tragic  Through  So^ie  General  Force. 

The  number  of  characters  falling  in  this  special  class, 
ira2:ic  through  some  general  force,  is  comparatively  lim- 
ited. In  every  case  tlie  ultimate  cause  of  the  tragic  event 
can  be  traced  back  to  the  acts  of  some  one  or  more  indi- 
viduals. In  the  preceding  class,  tragic  through  the  acts 
of  others,  the  tragic-bearing  actions  directly  concerned 
the  character  upon  whom  their  weiglit  fell.  In  this  cla.ss 
the  tragic-bearing  actions  were  carried  out  by  individuals 
with  no  direct  reference  to  the  person  standing  in  tragic 
relation  to  their  destructive  power.  In  the  latter  case, 
also,  the  tragic  conditions  are  apt  to  be  the  result  of 
general  public,  or,  at  least,  local  opinion ;  i.  e.,  there  is  a 
generalization  of  the  first  act  before  it  culminates  tragic- 
ally in  the  life  of  the  character  so  unfortunate  as  to  be 
under  its  ban. 

Examples  of  this  type  of  character  are:  Floriau 
Weninijer,  the  son  of  the  elder  Florian,  in  the  novel,  Der 
f^chandffeck:  the  Einsam  in  the  tragedy,  Sitahl  uii<J  Stein; 
and,  to  a  lesser  degree,  Martin  in  Das  Tierte  Oehot. 
Martin  was  led  to  shoot  an  officer,  not  through  his  own 
will  so  much,  as  tli rough  the  influence  of  all  his  general 


30  Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character 

environment.  Though  he  committed  the  final  act  in  his 
tragedy,  it  was  but  the  last  in  a  series  of  acts  heretofore 
performed  by  individuals  around  him^  Florian  chose  the 
way,  voluntarily,  that  resulted  in  his  death.  That  termi- 
nation, though,  of  his  life,  had  been  caused  by  an  immoral 
act  of  his  father:  which  made  Magdalena  Reindorfer  his 
half-sister.  The  Einsam  also  chose  the  path  which  meant 
his  destruction,  but,  in  the  first  place,  his  condition  was 
all  the  result  of  some  other  person's  folly. 

The  Einsam  was  the  son  of  a  tenant's  daughter  and 
an  unknown  father,  as  is  learned  from  his  own  story  when 
he  replies  to  Eisner:  "Zwoa  mtissen  wohl  dabei  g'west 
sein,  aber  ich  hab'  nur  d'  Halbscheid  von  so  'kennt,  mei^ 
Mutter."  The  young  mother,  to  get  away  from  those 
acquainted  with  her  disgrace,  went  to  the  city.  Here  the 
child  grew,  and  went  to  school  for  some  years,  and  finally 
worked  for  a  butcher  to  help  support  his  mother.  All  this 
time  he  was  never  told  of  the  manner  of  his  coming  into 
being.  The  mian,  whoi  for  several  years  sent  money  to 
his  mother,  in  reality  his  father,  was  known  to  him  as  his 
uncle.  In  time  the  boy  began  to  attend  social  gatherings 
of  the  young  people,  and  at  one  of  these  wished  to  lead  a 
very  beautiful  maiden  to  the  dance.  A  large,  rough  fellow 
in  the  presence  of  all,  had  said:  "Geh'  weg,  Bankert.'' 
Hurt  bv  the  insult,  and  raging  with  anger  that  such  a 
thins:  should  be  hinted  at  even,  that  his  mother  was  not 
honorable  in  everything,  he  stabbed  and  killed  the  accuser. 
Suddenly,  up  rushed  the  mother  and  confessed  her  former 
folly.  This  was  the  undoing  of  her  son.  As  he  says  to 
Tomerl  and  Pauli:  "Oes  konnt's  eng  nit  vorstelFu,  wie 
mir  da  g'wessen  ist  wie  ich  eing'  sehn  halV,  dass  ich  ja 
jed's  Wort  hatt'  einstecken  nutissen,  weil's  bittere  Wahr- 
heit  Avar,  dass  ich  da  a  Ehr'  hab'  wahren  wolPn  wo  d' 
nackete  Schand  an  alPn  Enden  ftir  g'schaut  hat,  dass  koan 
Korndel  Recht  und  koan  Stauberl  Vernunft  bei  mein'm 
Thun  war  und  ich  oan  Menschen  ganz'fiir  nix  und  wider 
nix  umcr'bracht  hatt'."  ^ 


(1.)     Stahl  und  Stein.  Act  3,  Scene  2. 


Anzcngruher's  Portrayal  of  Character  31 

Five  years  he  had  been  confined  in  prison  as  a  result 
of  his  passionate  act.  Feeling  separated  from  all  others 
because  of  his  dishonorable  birth,  and  because  of  his  crime, 
he  became  the  hermit  that  we  see  in  the  play.  Thus  he 
had  lived  in  the  cave  in  the  mountain  till  his  unfortunate 
meeting  with  Eisner.  This  man,  who  decides  to  have  him 
driven  from  the  neighborhood,  is  his  father,  though,  as 
yet,  the  fact  is  known  by  neither  of  them.  Just  before 
the  two  soldiers  go  to  carry  out  this  commission,  Eisner 
is  informed  of  the  true  state  of  affairs,  yet  he  allows  them 
to  go.  The  Einsami  has  all  of  the  firmness  of  the  father, 
and,  though  warned  by  Pauli,  Eisner's  niece,  and  Tomerl, 
he  determines  to  guard  his  little  home.  For  he  has  dis- 
turbed no  one.  The  stern,  unrelenting  nature  of  the 
father  had,  in  the  son,  been  renewed  with  almost  abnormal 
intensity.  In  carrjdng  out  this  purpose,  he  is  fatally 
wounded,  and  dies  after  being  carried  down  from  the 
mountain  into  the  presence  of  his  father.  Eisner  has 
been  seeking  this  son  to  make  him  his  heir,  and  now  finds 
him,  in  reality  brought  to  death  by  his  own  orders.  The 
Einsam  says  to  him :  "Du  hast  mer's  leben  'geb'n,  hastes 
halt  wieder  g'nomm'n; — 's  war  eh'  nit  viel  dran,  gar  nit 
viel.  Wer  woass  wie  ich  mich  drein  g'schickt  hatt,  'n 
reich'  Bauerssohn  z'  spieFn.''  ^ 

The  Einsam,  as  before  stated,  was  killed  by  a  soldier 
who  was  obeying  the  order  of  Eisner,  the  father.  Yet  the 
causes  leading  up  to  his  death  were  the  general  forces 
resulting  from  acts  done  years  before.  First,  the  way  he 
was  brought  into  the  world,  then  the  secret  that  was  made 
of  it  between  him  and  his  mother,  the  fight  and  resulting 
murder,  the  life  in  prison,  and  the  shame  and  disgrace 
of  it  all :  all  weighed  heavily  upon  a  quite  sensitive  nature. 
Everyone  of  those  forces  led  him  to  the  place  where  he 
was  to  perish  through  an  order  of  the  ver^^  individual  who 
performed  the  first  wrong  deed.     Yet,  in  each  case,  this 


(1.)     Stahl  iind  Stein,  Act  3,  Scene  2. 


:32  Anzengruber's  Portrayal  of  Character 

happened  without  any  direct  thought  or  reference  to  the 
very  individual  represented  by  the  Einsam  himself. 

Tragic  Agents. 

Gorg  Friedner  represents  one  extreme  in  the  class, 
tragic  agents.  At  the  time  when  he  appears  before  the 
reader  or  observer  in  the  play,  at  Schauflin's  Inn,  he 
seems  thoroughly  mean  and  despicable.  Yet  Ave  must 
regard  him  with  a.  greater  degree  of  sympathy  when  from 
his  own  lips  is  heard  the  stor^^  of  the  beginning  of  his 
downward  career:  his  parents'  receipt  of  money  for  the 
dishonor  of  his  sister.  From  that  time  on  he  looked  at 
the  world  from  an  almost  entirely  different  standpoint. 
There  is  in  his  character  even  a  little  of  the  post-tragic 
nature,  i.  e.,  he  might  have  been  otherwise  as  a  man  if 
sucli  an  occurrence  had  never  happened  in  a  -way  so 
closely  affecting  himself. 

He  has  developed  into  one  of  those  uncaring,  almost 
unfeelinc:  persons,  utterh^  indifferent  as  to  the  fate  of 
those  with  whom  they  come  in  contact.  In  fact,  such 
people  are  almost  equally  reckless  in  regard  to  their  own 
welfare :  the  material  of  one  class  of  great  criminals.  In 
a  bold,  unfeeling  way,  at  the  inn,  he  talks  with  Senner, 
joking  him  about  the  manner  in  which  his  sweetheart 
had  been  taken  from  him.  Finally,  Gorg  asks  Senner 
where  she  has  gone.  He  receives  no  information,  because 
the  honest  Senner  knows  nothing  of  her  whereabouts. 
Senner,  in  turn,  chides  Gorg  for  being  as  bad  as  ever. 
Then  (jony  lets  us  into  the  story  of  his  former  life.  He 
had  always  been  highly  honorable  until  a  rascal,  posing 
as  a  Russian  noble,  misled  his  sister,  and  his  parents 
accepted  mioney  for  the  wrong  done.  That  transaction 
proved  the  ruin  of  the  boy's  moral  fibre.  "Und  als  der 
Schelmufsky  ging,  durfte  ihm  die  Schwester  nachlacheln. 
die  ^Mutter  nickte  in  ihrem  Stuhl,  der  Vater  griff  an  die 
Mtitze  und  ich — ich  spuckte  hinter  ihm  aus.  Hoho,  dachte 
ich,  meint  der,  er  sei  hier  auf  der  Welt  iiberall  zu  Gast 


Anzengr liber's  Portrayal  of  Character  33 

geladen,  well  er  mit  goldenem  Loffel  zulangen  kann?"  ^ 
Gorg  sees  Paul  Weller  and  wife  as  they  leave  the  inn 
to  continue  their  journey  toward  home,  having  stopped 
to  have  the  horse's  shoes  repaired.  He  recognizes  in 
Katharine  his  own  wife.  At  that  time  he  does  not  make 
himself  known,  but  appears  the  following  day  at  the 
happy  home  of  Paul  Weller,  as  the  latter's  destroyer. 
First,  he  meets  Katharine,  and  refuses  to  leave  her  in  her 
happiness  unless  she  continually  keeps  him  supplied  with 
money,  a  thing  which  she  is  too  upright  to  agree  to  do. 
He  makes  no  attempt  to  comply  with  any  of  Katharine's 
entreaties  for  silence,  but  scoffs  at  her.  He  doesn't  care 
for  her:  "Gib  mir  vors  erste  eine  Handvoll  Geld,  dieweil 
ich  damit  ausreiche,  sollst  du  Ruhe  liaben  ist  das  ausgege- 
ben,  komme  ich  freilich  wieder."  ^  At  last  Katharine, 
driven  to  desperation,  tells  him  that  she  abhors  him,  hates 
liim.  In  part  his  reply  is :  "Abverlang'  ich  dich  von  ihm, 
vor  seinen  AiTgen  verunehr'  ich  dich.  Und  herauslaster' 
ich  dich  aus  seinem  Herzen,  und  vor  mir,  Kilthe,  sollst  du 
noch  klein  beigehen,  denn  eh'  ich  dich  mit  mir  ftihre, 
Schick'  ich  dich  in  die  Schule  wo  ich's  herhabe."  ^ 

Gorg  is  equally  unfeeling  toward  Paul  Weller  when 
he  appears,  and  continues  to  assert  his  right  as  Kathar- 
ine's husband.  At  last  she,  advised  by  the  priest  to  flee, 
meets  her  death  by  falling  from  a  precipice  while  strug- 
gling to  escape  from  a  half-craay  servant,  who  thinks  to 
lead  her  back  home.  At  the  same  time,  Weller  murders 
Gorg,  forced  almost  to  the  deed  by  the  gj'oss  remarks  of 
the  latter  concerning  Katharine.  Thus  Gorg  represents 
one  of  the  worst  of  Anzengruber's  tragic-agent  personages. 
As  characters  of  the  same  class,  but  of  a  far  different 
nature,  are  Helene  of  Sternstrinhof,  or  Leonhardt  of  Der 
ledif/e  Hof.  Both  belong  to  this  general  class,  yet  each 
is    quite    different    from    Gorg    Friedner.       Leonhardt, 


(1.)     Hand  und  Herz,  Act  1,  Scene  5. 
(2.)     Ibid.     Act  2,  Scene  7. 
(3.)     Ibid.    Act  2,  Scene  7. 


34  Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character 

through  an  ambition  to  become  Bauer  of  Der  ledige  Hof^ 
woos  and  wins,  so  far  a»  her  affections  are  concerned, 
Agnes  Bernhofer.  He  represents  himself  to  her  as  loving 
her,  his  only  sweetheart,  while  in  a  neighboring  district 
is  a  girl  with  an  illegitimate  child  which  belongs  to  him. 

Helene  in  Der  Sternsteinhof^  led  on  by  an  ambition 
to  be  Bauerin  of  the  Sternsteinhof,  selfishly  watches  the 
destruction  of  those  about  her,  as  she  climbs  toward  her 
goal.  She  pays  in  like  coin  the  hatred  of  the  old  Bauer 
of  the  Sternsteinhof.  Yet,  when  her  husband  is  lost,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  two  children  and  the  estate,  she  joins 
forces  with  the  old  man.  And  the  final  picture  we  have 
is  that  of  a  woman  enjoying  life  because  of  the  conditions 
about  her;  though  her  position  Avas  bought,  even  by  the 
early  death  of  those  in  her  way. 

Post-Tragic. 

In  one  type  of  character,  especially,  has  AnzengTuber 
clearly  shown  his  knowledge  of  his  study,  human  nature ; 
that  is,  in  that  class  of  personages  which  we  shall  desig- 
nate by  the  term,  post-tragic.  In  these  characters  there 
is  nothing  tragic  during  the  interval  represented  in  the 
play;  the  tragic  event  in  their  lives  had  come  perhaps? 
many  years  before,  and  we  see  the  results  upon  the  individ- 
ual as  he  moves  in  the  scenes  of  the  play,  or  story.  For 
Anzengruber,  these  characters  are  the  means  of  expres- 
sion, ofttimes,  of  his  own  personal  views  upon  the  various 
subjects,  yet  so  skillfully  is  it  done  that  those  ideas  are 
at  all  times  perfectly  natural  to  the  i)ersons  utterin^j 
them.  Typical  examples  of  such  characters  are  Wurzel- 
sepp,  and  Steinklopf  erhanns ;  though  Hauderer  of 
Doppelselhstmord,  or  Burgerliese  of  Der  Meineidhaiicr 
are  equally  true  members  of  this  class.  Of  those  men- 
tioned, all  have  become  rather  pessimistic  and  skeptical 
in  their  views  of  life  and  people,  with  the  exception  o^" 
Steinklopf  erhanns.  Wurzelsepp,  his  happiness  wrecked 
bv  the  giving  up  of  his  lover,  became  soured  toward  everv- 
thinsr;  Bururerliese,  because  the  Meineidbauer  turned  o^^t 


•       Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character  35 

of  shelter  her  daughter,  and  afterward  her  two  little  chil- 
dren, lost  faith  in  the  power  and  goodness  of  the  Divine, 
and  of  the  world. 

As  she  said  to  Vroni:  "Glaubst,  ich  bin  dos  uber 
Nacht  word'n,  was  ich  bin?  Da  hab'n  mehr  Jahr'  dran 
g'arbeit;  als  du  auf  der  Welt  bist.  A  Nacht  hat's  freilich 
fertig  'bracht,  do  namlich,  wo  dein'  Mutter  mit  eng  zwa 
Kindern  an  mein'  Thiir  'pocht  hat,  weil's  vom  IVIeineid- 
bauer  vom  G'hoft  g'jagt  worden  is.  Do  Welt  taugt  mir 
nit,  wo  so  was  drin  g'schehn  kann.  Seit  damals  heissen 
sie  niich  gottlos."  ^  Hauderer,  because  of  the  deceit 
of  a  close  friend,  and  also  because  of  ahvays  existing 
poverty,  is  of  a  pessimistic  tendenc}^,  and  speaks  of  every- 
thing:    "Es  is  eine  Dummheit.'' 

Steinklopferhanns,  like  Weldner,  the  schoolmaster, 
in  Dcr  ledigc  Hof,  has  through  all  of  his  troubles  main- 
tained an  optimistic  view  of  life.  He  is  a  character 
pleasant  to  study,  a  wholesome,  truly  good-natured 
humorist,  but  in  whose  humor  there  is  at  all  times  a 
strain  of  pleasing,  comforting  philosophy,  the  garnerings 
of  his  life  experiences.  Everybody  knows  and  likes  him. 
Poor  all  his  life,  and  engaged  in  the  most  tiresome  work, 
breaking  stone,  he  maintains  his  cheerfulness,  and  is  able 
to  give  words  of  encouragement  and  advice  to  many  in 
far  better  circumstances  than  lie.  In  society,  he  is  the 
one  who  solves  and  brings  harmony  out  of  discordant 
conditions,  through  his  quick  wit  and  knowledge  of  human 
nature.  We  must  laugh  at  the  way  he  solves  the  case  of 
the  penitential  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  of  the  husbands,  by 
suggesting  that  each  take  as  a  companion  a  pretty  maiden. 
Then,  instead  of  insisting  upon  the  journey  being  made, 
the  wives,  of  course,  were  just  as  determined  that  the 
husbands  should  remain  at  home,  and  the  solution  of  the 
problem  was  reached. 

But,  considering  the  character  himself,  let  us  turn 
our  attention  to  some  of  his  own  utterances  as  they  occur 


(1.)     Der  Meineidbauer,  Act  1,  Scene  9. 


30  Anzengraher's  Fortray.d  of  Character 

throughout  the  play,  Die  Kreuzelschreiher.  These  will 
show  in  a  general  Avay  the  peculiarities  of  characters  of 
this  type :  their  philosophic  tendencies.  First,  in  a  couple 
of  stanzas  chosen  from  his  songs  there  is  a  hint  of  his 
liberal  ideas  and  optimism : 

"Schon  blau  is  der  Himmel, 

Schon  grtin  is  der  Klee, 
Und  a  Lapp  war,  der  dessentwegen 
Fraget :    z'  weg'n  we/  "  ^ 

''  'S  Vogerl  im  Wald, 
Das  auf  d'Asteln  droh'n  steht, 
Dos  fragt  nit,  avo  's  herkommt 
Und  not  wohin  's  geht. 

^'Was  man  weiss,  dos  is  wenig, 
Was  man  nit  w^eiss,  is  's  meist, 
Und  a  Narr  war,  der  desstweg'n 
'N  Kopf  sich  zerreist.''  ^ 

He  was  the  son  of  a  herdsmaid,  his  father  being 
unknown.  Soon  after  his  birth,  his  mother  had  died,  leav- 
ing him  dependent  upon  the  district  (Gemeinde),  and  here 
he  had  known  want  and  suffering.  "Oes  jung  Leul' 
kennts  freilich  nur  'n  lustigen  Steinklopferhanns,  aber 
es  w^ar  schon  a  ander^  Zeit  vorher."  ^  Finally,  he  went 
into  the  army,  but  a  horse  had  fallen  on  his  foot  and 
crippled  him;  then  he  was  put  at  breaking  stone.  He  was 
taken  very  ill,  and,  neglected  and  suffering,  he  at  once 
turned  to  nature  as  his  physician.  Here  breaks  out  the 
secret  of  his  optimism.  To  quote  his  own  words:  ^'Da 
denk'  ich  mir.  H'naus  musst,  h'naus.  Sollst  versterb'n, 
stirbst  drausst;  die  grtin  Wiesen  breit't  dir  a  weiche 
Tuchet  unter  und  d'  Sonn'  druckt  dir  die  Angen  zu,  du 
schlaffst  ein  und  wirst  nimmer  munter,  der  Tod  is  nur  a 


(1.)     Die  Kreuzelschreiber,  Act  1,  Scene  5. 
(2.)     Ibid.     Act  1,  Scene  5. 
(3.)     Ibid.     Act  3,  Scene  1. 


Anzengruber's  Portrayal  of  Character  37 

Bremsler,  was  kann  dir  g'schelm?  Dort,  wo  die  zwei 
grossen  Tannbaum'  stehn,  zwischen  do  bin  ich  ins  Gras 
g'falPn  und  dort  hab'  ich  die  Eingebung  g'habt.  Da  is  a 
tiefer  Fried'  iiber  mich  'kommen  und  es  is  mir  durch  die 
SeeP  zog'n,  dos  siehst  schon  nocli  amial.  Und  da  kommt's 
iiber  mich,  wie  wann  eins  zu  ein'n  andern  red't.  Es  kann 
dir  nix  g'schelm.  Selbst  die  grosst'  Marter  zalilt  ninimer, 
wann  vorbei  is.  Ob  d'  jetzt  gleich  sechs  Schuh  tief  da 
unterni  Rasen  liegst,  oder  ob  d'  dos  vor  dir  noch  viel 
tausendmal  siehst — es  kann  dir  nix  g-schehn.  Du  g'horst 
zu  deni  all'n  und  dos  aJl  g'hort  zu  dir.''  ^ 

Thus,  in  Steinklopferhanns,  and  wliat  is  true  of  him 
is  equally  true  of  the  other  characters  of  this  class,  the 
author  de]>icts  to  us  a  person  who  has  in  the  past  under- 
gone experiences  of  a  tragic  nature.  True  to  tlieir  natural 
tendencies,  they  are  develojxMl,  the  results  of  those  expe- 
riences being  clearly  shown  in  the  character  itself  as 
it  appears  before  us  in  the  play.  On  the  one  hand,  who 
has  not  seini  tlie  person  changed  to  the  optimisitic  Stein- 
klopferhanns ;  on  the  other  hand,  to  the  skeptical  Burger- 
liese,  or  the  ])essiniistic,  unforgiving  Wurzelsepp? 

Neutral,  or  Common  Characters. 

As  representatives  of  this  type  of  character,  the  neu- 
tral or  coniuion,  the  old  ]>easant  Reindorfer  in  the  novel, 
Der  ScJufndflecky  and  Thomas  Hauimer,  the  tradesman,  in 
the  play,  Heimcffunden,  have  seemed  best  adapted  to  yiehl 
results  to  study.  Each  plays  an  iuiportant  role  in  the 
particular  part  in  which  he  takes  i)art.  Each  is  a  pleasing 
wholesome  character,  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  those 
about  him.  Eeindorfer  exhibits  also  a  good  example  of  a 
character,  psychological  in  liis  development  throughout 
the  story. 

Reindorfer  is  first  brought  before  the  reader  on  the 
afternoon  in  Avhich  his  wife  gives  birth  to  a  baby  girl,  not 
his  own.     A  wife  who  has  been  faithful  to  him  for  twenty 


(1.)     Die  Kreuzelsfhreiber,  Act  3,  Scene  1, 


38  Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character 

years,  but  who  in  a  moment  of  weakness  yielded  to  the 
evil  influence  of  Herlinger  Weninger,  or  Florian  Wen- 
inger,  the  illegitimate  child  of  Mathias  Herlinger  of 
Wasser-graben,  whom  Reindorfer  had  given  a  place  for  a 
couple  of  days  under  his  roof.  Reindorfer  is  sorely  hurt 
by  this  happening,  yet  he  so  conducts  himself  before  every- 
one, but  his  wife  alone,  that  no  one  suspects  that  the  child 
is  as  he  tells  himself  at  its  birth :  "Da  vergisst  sie  'n  Mann 
und  ilire  eheleiblichen  Kinder  um  -einen  hergelaufenen 
Lumpen  und  niclit  lange  von  heut^,  so  lauft — als  mtisst 
es  sein  und  gehor  es  ihm — der  lebendige  Schandfleck  im 
Hause  und  in  der  Familie  herum/'  ^  Though  he  will 
not  forgive  the  mother,  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  he  will  not 
allow  her  to  send  away  the  child  to  be  brought  up  in  a 
convent.  In  his  remarks  here  he  may  express  a  view  of 
the  author  himself.  "Das  (das  Kind)  an  allem  ganz 
unschuldig  ist.  Es  ist  niclit  mein  Kind,  so  red'  ich  ihm 
audi  night  das  Wort,  aber  die  Prommheit  kann  man 
keinem  anlernen."  ^ 

So  the  little  girl  Magdalena  grows  until  she  becomes 
old  enough  to  go  to  school.  Here  she  becomes  acquainted 
with  Florian,  the  son  of  her  real  father.  These  two  chil- 
dren go  to  and  from  school  together  until  Reindorfer  finds 
out  tlie  condition  of  affairs,  and  forbids  ^lagdalena  from 
having  anything  to  do  with  the  3^oung  Florian.  However, 
once  in  awhile  they  do  meet  one  another,  and  when  she 
becomes  a  beautiful  young  woman,  she  and  Florian  become 
lovers,  and  finally  decide  to  marry.  The  wife  of  the  elder 
Florian,  and  the  young  Florian 's  mother,  is  chosen  to  go 
to  the  Reindorfer  home  to  ask  the  hand  of  ^lagdalena  for 
her  boy.  Though  the  elder  Florian  knows  the  real  condi- 
tion of  affairs  so  Avell,  yet  he  is  too  weak  to  confess  them, 
and  allows  his  wife  to  depart  on  lier  mission. 

At  this  point  the  real  character  of  Reindorfer  begins 
to  appear.  Of  course,  he  will  not  consent  to  the  marriage, 
but  at  the  same  time  he  does  not  give  the  true  cause. 


(1.)     Der  Schandfleck,  page  6. 
^2.)      Der  Schandfleck,  page  27. 


Anzengruher's  Poi^trayal  of  Character  39 

Magdalena  had  come  to  be  very  dear  to  himi ;  in  fact,  when 
she  was  still  a  child  he  had  taken  a  special  interest  in 
her,  and  she  had  never  been  informed  as  to  her  real  posi- 
tion in  the  family.  But  now,  when  she  was  denied  her 
lover,  true  to  her  character,  she  must  know  the  reason. 
Reindorfer,  after  the  interview  with  the  Mtillerin  and  a 
'following  one  with  his  wife,  has  gone  out  to  the  arbor  in 
the  garden,  his  favorite  spot  when  troubled.  As  he  solilo- 
quizes :  "Es  ist  mir  Herzleid  um  die  Dirn — und  wenn  ich 
die  Alte  betrachte  und  seh',  dass  sie  hinfalliger  ist  wie 
ich,  da  muss  ich  mich  wohl  tiber  die  Zeit  hinaus  denken, 
wo  ich  anderes  hab'  gut  sein  konnen."  ^  At  this 
moment,  Magdalena  finds  him,  and  asks  for  the  explana- 
tion. He  hesitates  a  long  time,  but  at  last  says:  "Wenn 
du  mein  Kind  wiirest — dann  war'  eh'  alles  gut,"  and  then, 
"aber  du  und  der  Florian  habt  einen  Vater."  She  was 
very  much  crushed  by  such  news,  and  her  pain  was  almost 
unbearable  to  Reindorfer:  "Leni,  Leni,"  he  cried,  "Thu 
nicht  so  wirr,  iveine  lieber  noch  einmal."  When  she  left 
him,  he  could  scarcely  control  himself:  "Soil  ihr  nichts 
iibles  beifallen  oder  zustossen,"  ^  he  murmured. 

As  a  result  of  this  new  condition  of  affairs,  Magda- 
lena leaves  home,  followed  by  the  best  TNishes  of  old 
Reindorfer,  land  gets  employment  with  the  Grasboden- 
bauer,  Avhose  wife  has  died  and  left  him  Tvith  a  little  girl 
afflicted  with  a  nervous  disease.  Magdalena  becomes  the 
little  girl's  companion,  and  finally  wins  the  love  of  the 
Grasbodenbauer,  Avho  asks  her  to  marry  him.  She  tells 
him  the  history  of  her  life,  and  of  Florian,  now  dead,  but 
he  wishes  her  anyway.  She,  after  a  time,  gives  him  her 
promise,  and  the  Grasbodenbauer  makes  the  journey  to 
ask  Reindorfer  for  the  girl.  He  arrives  the  day  of  the 
wedding  of  the  son,  Leopold,  and  is  told  that  the  old  man 
is  out  in  the  garden.  A  letter  from  "Leni"  had  preceded 
him,  and  the  mention  of  that  letter  is  all  that  it  takes  to 
put  the  old  peasant  at  ease :  "Er  ist  von  meiner  Jiingsten 

(1.)     Der  Schandfleck,  page  115. 
(2.)     Der  Schandfleck,  page  130. 


40  Anzcngruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character 

von  der  Leni.''  After  a  conversation  of  some  length,  the 
father  says:  "Ja,  mein  lieber  Grasbodenbauer,  das  wollt 
ich  bereden  dass  dich  wohl  befremden  mag,  dass  die  Dirn 
nix  mitkriegt  aber  so  leid  mir  g'schieht,  ich  kann  nit.'^  * 
Being  informed  by  the  Grasbodenbauer  that  everything 
has  been  told,  and  that  he  takes  all  as  it  stands,  the  old 
man  becomes  easier  in  mind.  At  last,  as  the  Grasboden-' 
baiier  is  leaving,  Reindorfer,  in  his  characteristic  manner, 
said:  ^'Behiit  dich  Gott,  Grasbodenbauer.  Thii  mir  die 
Ijeni  schon  grtlssen  nnd  Gottes  Segen  tiber  euch  all 
zwei.'^  ^ 

The  marriage  of  the  Grasbodenbauer  and  Magdalena 
took  place,  and  they  were  happy.  Leni  wrote  to  the  old 
man,  her  father,  as  she  called  him,  but  the  letters  were 
destroyed  by  the  ill-tempered  wife  of  the  son,  Leopold. 
Finally,  this  woman  made  life  so  miserable  for  her  father- 
in-law  that  he  left  his  old  home,  the  home  of  his  fathers, 
and  went  to  seek  a  place  with  his  daughter.  She,  now  a 
mother  with  many  children,  will  not  keep'  him,  but  sends 
him  back  toward  the  place  from  which  he  started.  Rein- 
dorfer persuades  the  servant  who  is  driving  back  with 
him  to  leave  him  just  at  the  edge  of  the  old  farm.  He 
looks  at  his  home :  ^'O  du  mein  Hof ,  du  mein  lieber  Hof — 
du  Fleck,  Avorauf  ich  geboren  bin  und  hingehor,  bis  ich 
weg  sterb."  Then  he  thinks  of  the  dishonest  wife  of  his 
son,  and  cannot  bear  to  go  back.  He  has  become  some- 
what childish:  ''Und  ich  sollt  nebst  all  bitterm  Gal- 
lentrank  noch  das  gebrannte  Herzleid  in  mich  hinein- 
schlucken,  dass  ich  dich  so  langsam  versiechen  slih'.  Nein, 
nein,  lieber  geh'  ich  gleich  betteln.'^  ^  Thus  he  turned, 
aud  started  to  find  tlie  vSchaudfleck,  :Magdalena.  After 
two  days,  exhausted  and  ready  to  die,  the  old  man  fell 
across  the  threshold  at  Magdalena's.  Here  is  oue  of 
the  most  touching  scenes.  The  love  of  the  aged  peasant 
for  the  woman,  once  his  greatest  flesh-sore,  and,  on  the 


(1.)     Der  Schandfleck,  page  290. 
(2.)     Ibid.     Page  296. 
(3.)     Ibid.     Page  308. 


Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character  41 

other  hand,  her  deep,  genuine  affection  for  him.  "Du  hast 
kein  anderes  Kind  als  mich,  bin  ich  gleich  nit  als  das 
geboren,  ich  bin  es  geworden,  ich  hab'  auch  dein  Denken."  ^ 
This  she  tells  Reindorfer  when  they  find  him  at  the  door. 
They  take  himi,  care  for  him,  and  weep  at  his  death ;  that 
which  his  real  children  do  not  do. 

After  reading  the  story,  Reindorfer  and  his  life  seem 
as  real  as  though  he  were  an  actual  person.  His  life  bor- 
dered on  the  tragic,  yet,  owing  to  his  nature,  it  was  gradu- 
ally changed  by  the  rough  experiences  rather  than  being 
broken  in  any  way  by  those  testing  ordeals.  When  the 
wife  died,  he  had  forgiven  her,  and  treated  her  as  though 
she  had  ever  been  faithful  to  him. 

In  Reindorfer's  life  we  find  much  which  borders  upon 
the  tragic,  as  stated  before.  In  the  character,  Thomas? 
Hammer,  different  from  the  former,  there  is  nothing  of  a 
genuine  tragic  nature.  Each  of  these  characters  repre- 
sents a  class  of  Anzengruber's  neutral  characters.  For 
that  reason  we  shall  briefl}^  consider  Thomas  Hammer  as 
an  example  of  a  purely  neutral  individual. 

Thomas  Hammer,  the  younger  son  in  a  family  of 
very  moderate  circumstances,  has  seen  all  the  attention 
of  the  parents  given  to  the  advancement  of  the  older  son. 
Finally,  this  older  son,  having  been  helped  in  his  ambition 
for  an  education  by  the  two  old  people,  assisted  by  the 
younger  son,  became  a  doctor  of  laAv.  He  married  tlie 
daughter,  and  came  into  the  business  of  his  former 
employer.  For  years  he  has  apparently  forgotten  those 
who  gave  him  his  first  assistance.  The  younger  brother, 
Thomas,  after  the  death  of  the  father,  took  charge  of  the 
household,  and  supported  liis  mother  by  means  of  his 
modest  business  as  a  toy  tradesman.  The  old  mother,  still 
thinking  of  her  favorite  son  at  all  times,  does  not  appre- 
ciate the  kindness  of  the  younger  son.  Uncomplaining, 
however,  he  continues  his  faithful  service,  and  is  even 
thoughtful  enough  to  buy  Christmas  presents  each  year. 

(1.)     Der  Schandfleck,  page  311. 


42  Anzengruber's  Pwtrayal  of  Character 

and  have  them  sent  tO'  his  mother  as  remembrances  from 
the  elder  brother,  who  has  forgotten,  for  years,  to  perform 
such  an  act  of  filial  love. 

Doctor  Hammer,  through  costly  living,  has  failed 
financially,  and  on  Christmas  Eve  is  on  his  way  to  throw 
himself  into  the  Danube.  Thomas  saves  him  from  the 
act,  takes  him  to  his  mother,  and  the  next  day  gets  the 
Doctor's  family,  and  all  are  installed  in  the  little  home. 
They  are  supported  by  this  brother,  Thomas.  Throughout 
he  is  a  typical  example  of  a  good-natured,  forgiving  char- 
acter, one  of  the  common,  though  necessary,  people  of  the 
world's  activities.  He  and  Reindorfer  are  excellent 
examples  in  support  of  Anzengruber's  naturalistic-realism. 

Gormcal,  or  Humorous  Characters. 

There  are  many  characters  in  Anzengruber's  works, 
humorous  at  times,  who  cannot  be  classified  definitely  as 
humorous  characters.  Those  which  are  classed  here  are 
the  characters  in  whom  the  comic  vein  is  always  present, 
or  else  those,  who,  from  their  pronounced  peculiarities, 
are  at  every  turn  doing  something  causing  merriment. 
Among  the  first  might  be  mentioned  Kohlenbrenner- 
Tomerl,  Tomerl  in  ^tahl  und  Steln^  Poldl  of  Doppelselhst- 
mord.  As  examples  of  the  second  class  we  might  mention 
the  extreme,  Foliantenwalzer,  and  the  milder  types, 
Dusterer  in  G^wissenswiirm,  Doctor  Knorr  in  Elfriede, 
and  Schrauder  and  Fahnlein  in  Heimg'funden.  Alto- 
gether, in  their  humor,  they  represent  many  different 
degrees  and  phases,  quite  true  to  reality  in  nearly  every 
case.  Professor  Foliantenwalzer,  perhaps,  being  the  most 
exaggerated  in  his  humorous  peculiarities. 

Foliantenwalzer  is  a  type  of  the  comic  figure,  made 
so  by  magnifying  certain  peculiarities  and  defects  of  a 
person  naturally  a  little  odd.  He  is  a  teacher  and  philolo- 
gist, who,  because  of  his  extreme  interest  in  his  chosen 
work,  has  gradually  lost  interest  and  acquaintanceship  in 
the  life  about  him.  To  spend  a  vacation  he  has  come 
out  to  a  country  place,  to  pass  a  fcAV  days  with  Pfarrer 


Anzengruhcr's  Pof^trayal  of  Character  43 

Doppler.  Here  he  gets  into  all  sorts  of  trouble,  and 
makes  himself  ridiculous  before  all  those  about  him. 
Being  given  access  to  a  bookcase  full  of  old  books,  he 
finds  a  rare  old  volume,  of  which  he  had  often  attempted  to 
obtain  possession.  Absent-mindedly  he  decides  to  take 
this  book  secretly,  and  add  it  to  his  library.  The  succeed- 
ing ridiculous  situations  into  which  he  is  gotten  by  the 
fun  and  joke  loving  Kohlenbrenner-Tomerl  are  numerous. 

Kohlenbrenner-Tomerl  is  light-hearted,  and  some- 
what frivolous;  yet,  along  with  his  mere  fun-making,  he 
shows  a  keen  understanding.  A  cheerful  charcoal-burner, 
he  lives  alone  in  his  hut,  and,  like  Steinklopferhanns,  is 
known  by  all  in  that  neighborhood.  Never  causing  him- 
self any  trouble,  but  satisfied  with  conditions  as  they  force 
themselves  upon  him,  he  has  time  to  help  others,  and  also 
to  see  a  joke  in  whatever  happens. 

Kasper,  in  trouble  over  the  new  rival  for  Regerl,  is 
asked  by  Tomerl  for  some  money  almost  in  the  first 
moment  after  their  meeting.  In  the  next,  he  promises  to 
help  Kasper  in  his  new  trouble.  The  absent-minded 
Foliantenwalzer,  who  asks  for  a  place  to  rest  in  the  hut, 
is  used,  unknown  to  himself,  as  a,  man  of  wonderful 
powers  in  the  plot  against  Simmion-Simmerl,  the  rich 
suitor,  and  Rasper's  rival.  He,  Tomerl,  invents  a  ridic- 
ulous story  of  the  mea,ning  of  certain  marks  upon  the 
face  of  a  girl,  and  their  significance,  for  the  discomfiture 
of  the  simple  Simmion.  Regerl  had  those  identical  markSw 
Simmion  is  led  to  believe  that  they  mean  the  early  death 
of  the  first  husband,  and  that,  for  that  reason,  he  should 
to  save  himself  let  Kasper  be  the  first  husband.  Thus 
continue  the  humorous  plans  and  acts  of  Kohlenbrenner- 
Tomerl. 

Better  are  humorous  personages  such  as  Schrauder 
and  Fahnlein;  each  a  character  with  a  peculiarity  devel- 
oped in  a  certain  direction.  In  the  case  of  Schrauder,  it 
is  the  tendency  to  leave  worry  alone,  with  Fahnlein  it  is 
the  opposite  tendency,  a  nervous  fussiness,  Avhich,  no 
matter  how  serious  the  time,  cannot  fail  to  affect  us  in 


44  Anzengrtihers  Pot^trayal  of  Character 

but  one  way,  as  comical.  The  thing  of  special  interest  in 
these  last  two  characters  is  their  naturalness.  Every  one 
has  seen  the  large,  good-natured  Schrauder,  and,  likewise, 
the  nervous,  little  Fahnlein.  Anzengruber  has  written 
some  master  comedy,  and,  Avhile  in  almost  any  of  his 
works  the  reader  will  find  real,  genuine,  wholesome 
humor;  yet,  as  a  class,  his  characters  of  this  type  show 
his  true  power  to  a  lesser  degree  than  any  of  the  other 
types.  They  are  less  real,  |as  a  class,  and  uncertain 
in  their  development.  However,  such  characters  as 
Schrauder  in  Bcimrffiinclcn,  or  Kernhofer  in  Altc  Wiener^ 
cannot  but  appeal  to  one  because  of  their  extreme  natural- 
ness. 

The  best  humor  to  be  found  in  Anzengruber  is  that 
which  unexpectedly  and  spontaneously  makes  its  appear- 
ance at  almost  every  turn  in  all  of  his  works.  It  is  that 
natural  humor  coming  from  the  naivete  of  his  characters. 
Even  a  pessimist  like  Hauderer,  by  his  quaint  expressions 
and  his  unexpected  situations,  is  not  entirely  lacking  in 
that  respect. 


Chapter  III. 

Problems  With  Which  the  Characters  Deal. 

Anzengruber  has  been  called  a  "tendenz"  poet;  i.  e., 
>ne  who  has  busied  himself  with  problems  of  the  age  and 
place;  one  who  has  used  the  drama,  and  the  novel  as  an 
instrument  for  the  agitation  of  social  questions,  such  as 
were  before  the  people  of  his  country.  To  a  certain 
extent  that  view  is  correct.  As  will  be  shown  later  in 
the  discussion,  many  of  the  general  themes  of  his  works 
were  of  such  a  type.  But  in  his  characters  themselves 
he  has  always  placed  a  deeper  problem,  a  problem  of  life 
itself,  interesting  for  all  peoples,  and  for  all  times.  In 
the  play,  Der  Meineidbauer,  one  of  the  things  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  reader  is  the  idea,,  so  firmly  ingrained 
in  the  belief  of  the  main  character,  Mathias  Ferner,  that, 
no  matter  what  is  done,  it  may  be  absolved  by  a  priest  at 
confession.  No  doubt  the  author  did  intend  to  aim  a 
blow  at  that  false  idea  of  Catholicism  taught  by  world- 
minded  leaders  of  the  faith.  Nevertheless,  the  real  motive 
of  the  play  is  clearly  a  deeper  one.  The  art  of  the  play,  and 
the  thread  of  the  tragedy,  is  rather  in  the  gradual  over- 
whelming of  a  strong,  yet  selfish,  grasping  character  by 
the  forces  which  are  the  result  of  his  own  selfish  acts. 
In  other  words,  as  in  the  creations  of  every  other  drama- 
tist, so  in  Anzengruber's  works,  there  is  the  outer  skeleton, 
or  general  theme,  and  the  inner  soul  confiict,  represented 
in  one  or  more  of  the  individuals  of  the  drama.  The 
general  theme  may  be  of  interest  to  a  certain  period  or 
place,  but  the  real  value  of  a  work  is  in  the  inner  problems 
of  the  individual  himself. 

In  Der  Pfarrer  vwi  Kirchfeld,  the  general  basis  of  the 
play  is  a  question  of  the  relation  of  church  and  state, 
and  the  two  minor  related  ideas,  the  celibacy  of  the  priest- 
hood and  the  churches  control  of  marriages.  The  real 
interest  of  the  play,  however,  centers  about  the  youn^ 


46  Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character 

priest,  who,  thinking  only  of  the  good  he  may  do  others, 
lias  his  actions  wrongly  interpreted  by  some  who  mean 
him  harm.  His  struggle  against  the  forces  thus  set  loose, 
his  integrity  to  conviction  regardless  of  opposition,  form 
the  inner  motive  of  the  production.  Along  with  that 
inner  motive,  and  inseparable  from  it,  are  the  soul  strug- 
gles of  a  Wurzelsepp,  the  revengefulness  of  a  Finsterberg, 
and  the  womanliness  of  an  Annerl. 

Hand  und  Herz  contains  a  general  criticism  of  the 
position  of  the  church  concerning  marriage.  This  position 
is  voiced  by  the  monk,  Augustin,  when  petitioned  by 
Katharine:  "Weller  verlassen — wohl  dem  ersten  (Gorg) 
folgen?"  as  he  answers:  ^^Null  und  nichtig  ist  diese 
zweite  Ehe."  ^  According  to  that  decree,  she  must 
leave  a  good  husband  and  a  happy  life,  and  go  back  to 
her  former  misery  as  the  wife  of  the  degraded  Priedner. 
Therein  is  the  "tendenz''  theme  of  the  play.  The  interest, 
liowever,  again  finds  itself  in  the  heart  anguish  of  Kathar- 
ine and  the  desperation  of  Weller,  which  results  so 
tragically  in  the  destruction  of  his  happiness,  the  murder 
of  G(")rg,  and  the  accidental  death  of  the  fleeing  woman. 

Die  Kreuzelsclireiber  pictures  a.  similar  general 
theme  in  a  comical  dress.  The  church,  through  its  clergy, 
had  incited  the  wives  against  their  husbands,  in  order  to 
cause  those  husbands  to  renounce  the  si  caning  of  a  paper 
obnoxious  to  the  priesthood.  The  general  theme  is  spoken 
by  Anton  in  the  Avords:  ^'Ich  mocht  doch  wissen,  wie  s' 
dazu  kamen,  dass  sie  sich  zAvischen  Mon  und  Weib  ein- 
mischen."  ^  Through  the  resourcefulness  of  Steinklop- 
ferhanns,  however,  the  humanness  of  the  peasant  wins 
over  the  unnatural  demands.  The  humanness  of  the  indi- 
vidual characters  is  the  interesting  feature  of  the  w^ork. 
Steinklopferhanns  stands  out  as  a  masterfully  developed 
personage,  a.  true  representative  of  real  life. 

Agnes,  the  skillfully  drawn  character  in  Der  ledige 
Hof,  had  been  kept  from  members  of  the  other  sex  of  her 

(1.)     Hand  und  Herz,  Act  3,  Scene  3. 
(2.)     Kreiizelschreiber,  Act  2,  Scene  5. 


Anzengrubcr's  Portrayal  of  Character  47 

age  till  she  was  a  mature  woman.  Her  head-servants,  the 
old  Thomas  and  Oresenz,  wished  to  see  her  estates  go  to 
the  church.  That  is  not  the  main  thread  of  the  play,  how- 
ever. The  theme  is  the  influence  of  love,  and  its  reaction 
as  a  result  of  deception,  as  shown  in  the  character  of 
Agnes.  The  whole  interest  jof  the  production  centers 
ahout  this  one  character.  In  Die  Trutzige,  the  idea  that 
a  woman  who  makes  her  own  way  in  life  should  be  as 
independent  and  free  as  a  man  in  similar  circumstances, 
is  given  a  prominent  place.  Here,  also,  the  interest  is  in 
tlie  strong,  somewhat  rough  character.  Die  Trutzige,  and 
her  final  submission  to  her  wooer,  Martin  Wegmacher. 
Elfricdc  has  as  its  theme  the  rights  of  woman,  and  this 
idea  is  brouglit  out  in  the  reconciliation  of  Eifriede  and 
Gustav,  and  the  latter's  recognition  of  liis  wife's  actual 
worth. 

Magdalena  Reindorfer,  one  of  the  principal  person- 
ages in  Der  Schandfteck,  and  the  Einsam,  the  leading 
character  in  Der  Einsam,  are  representatives  of  the  type, 
"das  Siindekind."  Magdalena.,  a  normal  person,  attains 
a  happy  position  in  life  as  the  Avife  of  the  Grasbodenbatier, 
after  having  experienced  the  unfortunate  love  affair  with 
l^'lorian  Weninger,  afterward  proved  to  be  her  brother. 
But  with  the  Einsam  it  is  far  different,  and  the  conditions 
of  his  forced  environment  bring  him,  after  a  life  of  tragic 
events,  to  a  tragic  end.  A  He  Wiener,  which  represents 
the  life  of  the  suburbs  of  Vienna,,  with  its  lightness  and 
touches  of  laxness  in  moral  tone,  is  rather  a  collection  of 
interesting  pictures :  of  scenes  full  of  wit  and  satire.  It 
is  difficult  to  give  any  special  statement  of  the  things  of 
particular  interest  in  the  comedy.  Such  characters  as 
Schmalhofer,  Gustav,  Sophie,  and  Martin  Kernhofer  oft'er 
fascinating  studies,  as  individuals. 

Heimg^funden  has  as  its  general  thought,  that  oul\ 
honest  employment  and  living  in  accord  with  one's  means 
are  honorable.  Dr.  Hammer,  and  his  failure  through  dis- 
obeyance  of  this  law,  is  the  special  picture  brought  to  our 
attention.     In  this  play,  also,  such  characters  as  Thomas 


48  Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character 

Hammer,  Sclirauder,  etc.,  are  subjects  of  value  and  inter- 
est. The  comedy,  Doppelselbstmord,.  and  the  tragedy, 
Das  vierte  Gebot,  depict  two  different  results  of  interfer- 
ence of  the  parents  in  the  "affairs  of  the  heart"  of  their 
children.  In  the  former,  the  young  people  followed  their 
own  inclinations,  and  the  resulting  scene  is  bright.  In 
Das  vierte  Gehot,  Hedwig  gave  up  her  true  lover,  and 
married,  at  the  demands  of  her  father,  a  rich  good-for- 
nothing,  a  man  whom  she  could  but  despise,  and  a  man 
who  had  been  the  betrayer  of  Pepi.  Her  future  was 
ruined,  and  her  life  became  a  tragedy.  Likewise,  through 
ihe  influence  of  their  corrupt  parents,  the  lives  of  Martin 
and  Pepi,  the  son  and  daughter  of  Schalanter  and  his 
wife,  Barbara,  Avere  wrecked.  In  order  not  to  leave  only 
this  pessimistic  view  before  the  minds  of  his  readers  or 
observers,  Anzengruber  shows  in  the  same  play  the  happy 
family  life  of  the  gardener,  Schon,  and  his  wife,  Anna, 
Avhose  son,  Eduard,  chose  his  career,  followed  by  their 
sympathy  and  material  aid,  though  they  must  deny  them- 
selves much  to  make  that  career  a  possibility. 

Der  Fleck  auf  der  Ehr^  brings  to  view  Franzel,  driven 
to  desperation  because  a  charge,  of  which  she  is  innocent, 
but  for  which  she  has  served  a  sentence  in  prison,  has 
become  known  to  her  husband.  The  person  who  brought 
forward  the  charge  had  known  for  a  long  time  that  it 
was  wrong,  but  had  never  made  the  fact  known.  Her 
indifference  almost  resulted  in  the  self-destruction  of  the 
accused.  The  "tendenz"  turn  of  the  drama  is  in  the  criti- 
cism of  the  indifference  of  the  rich'  with  respect  to  those 
in  a  lower  stratum  of  society.  G'unssemvurm.  presents 
Grillhofer,  a  wealthy  peasant,  now  in  ill  health,  troubled 
by  the  thought  of  a  past  relationship  with  a  maid-servant. 
The  continued  reminder  of  this  folly  exists  in  the  person 
of  his  brother-in-law,  Dusterer,  ^who  Avishes  him  to  show 
repentance  by  distributing  his  property  among  the  poor. 
He,  Dusterer,  is  poor,  so  Grillhofer  sliould  giA^e  the 
property  to  him  and  his  family,  in  order  to  save  the  mis- 
led girl  from  everlasting  torture.     The  final  discovery  of 


Anzengruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character  49 

the  o^irl,  now  a  wife,  and  with  twelve  children,  and  later 
of  the  child,  now  a  strong  and  honest  maiden,  destroys 
the  scheming  influence  of  Dusterer.  The  characters, 
Dusterer  and  Horlacherlies,  show  a  fine  contrast  of  nature. 
Thus,  in  a  very  brief  way,  are  shown  the  general 
problems  in  Anzengruber's  works.  While  there  is  a  trace 
of  the  "tendenz"  poet,  yet  the  main  thought  of  his  dramas 
and  novels  is  one  of  actual  life.  He  is  concerned  with 
the  problems  of  love,  of  hate,  of  ambition,  of  human  trials, 
and  progress.  The  principal  interest  is  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  individual  characters,  and  their  relation  with 
one  another.  In  other  words,  the  inner  motive  throughout 
is  humanity,  and  its  struggle  for  betterment  through  the 
efforts  of  the  individual.  The  poet's  hope  for  progress 
was  laid  in  the  strength  of  each  person's  moral  fibre. 


Chapter  IV. 

The  Dramatic  Situations.    Naturalness  of  the  Characters. 

The  dramatic  situations  may  be  regarded  in  two  dif- 
ferent ways:  First,  the  general  dramatic  situation  witli 
reference  to  the  entire  story  or  play,  and,  second,  the 
particular  situations  as  they  are  to  be  found  at  any  point 
in  the  development  of  the  individual  work.  They  must, 
partially  at  least,  be  considered  separately,  from  the  fact 
that  the  general  dramatic  situation  may  be  real,  while 
special  scenes  in  the  same  work  are  idealized. 

In  both  cases,  Anzengruber  has  held  closely  to*  reality 
in  the  greater  number  of  dramatic  situations.  They  are 
as  happenings  of  actual  life;  and  his  characters  appear 
as  ordinary  people,  each  busy  with  his  or  her  own  special 
work  or  plans.  The  tragic  conflict  in  each  case  is  merely 
the  result  of  some  individual's  activities  coming  into 
opposing  relations  with  the  general  activity  of  the  com- 
munity, society,  or  of  some  one  individual. 

Among  the  works  of  the  serious  type,  including  the 
two  novels,  Der  Schandfleck  and  Der  Sternsteinhof^  only 
one  is  idealized  in  its  general  dramatic  situations,  and 
here  it  is,  but  to  a  small  degree.  In  Der  Pfarrer  von 
Kirchfeld  the  tone  is  an  idealized  one  throughout,  but 
there  only  with  regard  to  the  two  characters,  Pfarrer 
Hell  and  Annerl.  Hell,  to  whose  life  the  word  "Menschen- 
liebe"  is  the  keynote,  is  a  character  somewhat  ideal.  He 
is  not  idealized  to  the  extent  of  being  an  impossibility, 
but  onl^^  as  rather  improbable,  removed  from  the  ordinary. 
Annerl  also  carries  with  her  an  atmosphere  of  the  ideal- 
istic. In  the  other  characters  there  is  a  close  adherence  to 
actual  conditions  of  life. 

In  his  comedies  there  is  more  exaggeration  in  the 
plot  and  in  the  dramatic  situations.  In  the  plays  of  this 
latter  class,  also,  he  has  held  remarkably  close  to  life,  in 
the  general  outlines.     Heimxj'funden,  in  tlie  general  facts 


Anzengruher's  Portrayal  of  Character  51 

of  its  plot,  is  a  picture  from  actual  tragedy  caused  by 
social  ambition.  Like  statements  might  be  made  as  to 
the  realism  of  the  plots  of  the  comedies,  G'wisseyiwurm, 
Doijpelselbstmord,  Alte  Wiener,  and  Die  Trutzige.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  general  situation  in  Die  Kreuzel- 
schreiher  has,  in  places,  the  element  of  improbability, 
though  many  of  the  individual  characters  and  scenes  are 
examples  of  realistic  masterwork.  In  Die  Kreuzelschrei- 
her,  however,  the  germ  of  the  plot  is,  in  fact,  a  real 
occurrence. 

In  ASf'  Jungferngift  several  of  the  general  conditions, 
as,  for  example,  the  rivalry  of  Kasper  and  Simmion-Sim- 
merl  for  the  hand  of  Regerl,  are  quite  real.  The  scenes 
and  the  motives  ruling  the  actions  of  the  characters,  as 
furnished  largely  by  the  comical  Kohlenbrenner-Tomerl, 
are  such  as  one  Avould  expect  in  a  mere  farce.  The  charac- 
ters themselves  appear  with  their  natural  traits  exagger- 
ated, some  of  them  till  they  are  ridiculous.  However,  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  play  is  a  very  light  comedy, 
and  that  we  sliould  expect  things  to  appear  somewhat 
magnified. 

In  special  scenes,  there  are  but  a  few  with  a  tinge  of 
tlie  idealistic,  or  with  an  appearance  of  exaggeration. 
Anzengruber  made  use  of  music,  influenced  to  some  extent 
by  precedent,  and  somewhat  by  his  knowledge  of  theat- 
rical effect.  This  is  partially  the  cause  for  the  seemingly 
overdrawn  effect  of  two  of  the  fcAv  scenes  which  go  beyond 
the  real.  One  is  tlie  death  scene  of  Jakob  in  Dcr  Melncid- 
hauer.  He  dies  in  his  grandmother's  arms  while  singing 
a  favorite  song.  Another  scene  somewhat  unreal  is  tlie 
shooting  of  Franz  in  Dcr  Meineidhaner.  The  closing  scene 
in  Dcr  Pfarrcr  von  Kirchfeld  is  idealistic  with  regard  to 
Annerl.  It  is  not  probable  that  an  actual  character  of  her 
station  of  life  would  have  said  what  she  said.  Tlie  sudden 
change  Avhich  came  over  Grillhofer  in  G^tmssensumrm, 
when  his  illegitimate  daughter,  Horlacherlies,  is  made 
known  to  hiiu  through  a  letter,  which  she  herself  deliv- 
ers, is  not  a  perfectly  natural  change.     He,  miraculously 


52  Anzengi'uhei^s  Portrayal  of  Character 

almost,  changes  from  a  weak  paralytic  to  an  active  old 
man. 

The  conduct  of  Poldl  and  Agerl,  the  young  lovers  in 
Doppclselbst7yiord,  is  exaggerated  in  the  Inn  scene.  But 
here,  again,  we  deal  with  comedy,  and  the  poet  has  pur- 
posely exaggerated  the  prominent  characteristics  of  his 
personages.  Other  examples  of  such  exaggeration  of 
personal  traits  might  be  given  from  almost  every  scene  in 
'^  Jungfcrngift.  In  his  comic  characters,  Anzengruber 
never  does  more  than  to  augment  the  natural  peculiarities 
of  a  person  with  strongly  marked  tendencies  in  certain 
directions.  In  other  words,  if  the  abnormally  developed 
nearsightedness,  shyness,  and  absent-mindedness  of  the 
Professor  Foliantenwalzer  were  gradually  decreased,  the 
result  would  be  a  somewhat  timid  scholar,  inclined  to 
dream  over  his  books. 

Though  lie  has  used  material  representing  patholog- 
ical conditions  of  society  as  a  whole,  yet  Anzengruber 
presents  but  few  individuals  who  appear  as  pathological. 
This  is  in  harmony  with  one  of  the  strongest  ideas  of  the 
poet,  and  one  Avliich  appears  in  each  of  his  important 
characters:  that  advancement  depends  upon  the  indi- 
vidual rather  than  upon  the  aggregate.  Now  and  then 
he  does  show  us  the  effects  of  those  general  pathological 
conditions  as  they  must  appear  in  individuals  so  unfor- 
tunate as  to  oppose  them  directly.  Anzengruber's  char- 
acters are  always  men  and  women  of  full  mental  vigor. 
In  this  respect  they  are  unlike  the  greater  number  of 
similar  characters,  creations  of  later  dramatists  of  the 
na,turalistic  school,  with  whom  the  pathology  of  the  mind, 
1.  e.,  the  psychology  of  mind  patholog\%  is  seemingly  of 
highest  worth.  Hauderer  can  say  of  his  daughter  and 
her  lover,  whom  some  think  to  have  committed  suicide: 
"Na,  na^  Sentner,  zu  so  ein'  Thun  g'hor'n  Lent'  mit  einer 
grauslicher  Selbstigkeit,  was  nui*  af  sich  denkt  und  einer 
Boshaftigkeit  af  andere;  es  ist  a  ung'sund's  Wesen,  a 
ung'sund's  Wesen.  I^nsere  Kinder  sein  brav,  do  wissen 
schon,  wann  man  ainal  af  der  AVelt  ist,  g'hort  sich  a,  da>ss 


Anzengrnher's  Portrayal  of  Character  53 

mer  sich  drein  schickt,  unci  dass  kein  Respeckt  war',  sich 
vorm  Vatern  in  d'Gruben  einidrangen."  ^ 

Leutenberger-Urban,  of  whom  but  a  fleeting  picture 
is  given  in  Der  Schmidfleck;  Gorg  Friedner  in  Hand  und 
Eerz;  and  Florian  Weninger,  after  the  loss  of  Magdalena, 
are  pathological  characters.  They  represent  characters, 
who,  through  the  influence  of  some  happening  in  early 
life,  lost  all  respect  for  themselves,  and,  as  a  result,  chose 
the  downward  way.  Each  met  violent  death  as  a  reward. 
Florian,  however,  different  from  the  other  tAvo,  died  doing 
a  noble  deed:  he  was  killed  defending  the  honor  of  a  litle 
girl  from  Leutenberger-Urban.  Htibmayr,  in  Der  Fleck 
auf  derEhr",  is  pathological.  He  has  been  in  prison  for 
dishonest  acts,  and,  at  the  time  of  the  play,  is  a  careless, 
but  cheerful,  sneak-thief.  His  position  is  most  clearly 
seen  in  his  statement :  "Und  was  hatt'  i  denn  a  davon,  da 
heraussten?  Drinnet  (Strafhaus)  ah  ja  drinnet,  da  hab'  i 
mein  g'sund's  trocken's  Wohnen,  mei'  zureichend's  Essen, 
d'  Reinlichkeit,  kann  in  Hof  Luft  schnappen  und  wann  i 
krank  werd,  is  der  Doktor  glei'  bei  der  Hand."  ^ 

Wurzelsepp  and  Burgerliese  are  characters  wlio  h«ave 
become  pessimistic  toward  their  fellow  men,  and  toward 
the  higher  Power.  Wurzelsepp  turned  from  the  world 
because  it  had  denied  him  the  Avisli  of  his  heart,  and  spent 
his  life  digging  roots  in  the  mountains.  It  was  only  by 
the  noble  action  of  Hell,  at  the  burial  of  his  mother,  that 
Sepp  was  brought  from  his  condition  of  extreme  hatred 
for  everything  connected  with  church  matters.  Burger- 
liese became  a  doubter  of  human  kindness  and  divine 
justice  when  her  daughter,  with  two  helpless  little  chil- 
dren, was  driven  from  home  and  rights  by  the  ^feineid- 
bauer.  Grillhofer  represents  a  pathological  mental  state 
brought  on  by  continual  stings  of  the  conscience  at  the 
thought  of  a  former  sin,  those  stings  being  always  renewed 
by  the  artful  Dusterer.  Hauderer  became  pessimistic 
and  somewhat  pathological  in  his  relation  to  the  world 

(1.)    '  Doppelselbstmord,  Act  3,  Scene  6. 

(2.)     Der  Fleck  auf  der  Ehr',  Act  1,  Scene  3. 


54  Anzengruber^s  Portrayal  of  Character 

about  him  because  he  was  deceived  by  those  in  whom  he 
had  trusted  most.  He  resigns  himself  to  ever  increasing 
poverty,  and  the  view  that  everything  ^'is  a  Dummheit." 

The  most  pathological  character  in  Anzengruber's 
works  is  the  Einsam.  He  has  a  clear  mental  power,  but 
a  proud,  ruling  nature,  inherited  from  his  father,  has 
grown  through  the  influence  of  his  environment  to  a  hos- 
tile opposition  toward  all,  to-  a  desire  to  live  in  complete 
isolation.  The  murder  of  the  slanderer  of  his  mother,  the 
resulting  recognition  of  the  truth  of  the  murdered  man's 
remarks,  his  new  relation  to  normal  society,  his  term  of 
sentence  in  prison :  all  united  to  sicken  his  keenly  sensi- 
tive being.  He  shrank  from  his  fellows,  but  not  beca,use 
of  fear:  "Wie  in  oaner  Mauer  a  lockerer  Stoan,  den  nix 
lialt't  und  er  selber  nit,  musst'  mer  bald  Avieder  li'raus- 
fallen.  Zwoafach  bin  ich  von  so  (die  Gemeinschaft) 
g'schieden,  durch  do  unehrliche  Geburt  und  durch  mein 
Thun.''  1 

In  his  pathological  characters  the  poet  always  sought 
to  bring  out  a  grain  of  goodness.  He  never  brought  a 
thoroughly  depraved  person  into  a  strong  light.  In  fact, 
he  never  created  such  a  character,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  Leutenberger-Urban,  and  he  is  not  before  us 
enough  to  be  judged  accurately.  He  was  evil,  but  he  is 
only  brought  to  view  for  a  short  time,  and  meets  death  as 
a  reward  for  his  villainous  intentions.  Gorg  Friedner  is 
a  character  of  almost  disgusting  meanness,  but  the  reader 
must  have  some  sympathy  for  him  Avhen  the  history  of 
his  downfall  is  known.  They  are  all  personages  of  ordi- 
nary intellectual  power,  i.  e.,  they  are  not  mental  degener- 
ates, yet,  though,  some  of  them  do  show  moral  degeneracy. 

Anzengruber's  characters  are  nearly  always  psycho- 
logical in  their  development.  He  first  presents  them  in 
such  a  way  that  their  characteristics  are  quite  clear  to 
the  reader  or  observer,  then,  under  the  influence  of  sur- 
rounding  forces   working   upon    them,    these    characters 


(1.)     Der  Einsam,  Act  3,  Scene  2. 


Anzcngruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character  55 

gradually  change,  so  in  harmony  with  their  individual 
nature,  that  they  cannot  lie^p  but  stand  out  as  real  men 
and  women.  His  personages  seem  to  be  planned  to  act 
in  accordance  with  psychological  laws,  so  truly  do  they 
conform,  yet  they  are  far  from  being  dry  psychological 
machines.  They  are  men  and  women,  so  accurately  fash- 
ioned by  the  creator  that  they  mtcst  be  psychological  in 
their  development. 

To  be  more  specific,  let  us  take  a  few  individual 
examples  of  characters  who  show  psychological  develop- 
ment. Agnes  Bernhofer,  in  Der  ledige  Hof,  has  grown  up 
practically  isolated  from  members  of  the  other  sex,  who 
were  of  like  age.  She  had  come  to  be  a  mature  woman 
without  ever  having  experienced  the  passion  of  love.  She 
meets  Leonhardt  Trilbner,  a  handsome  young  man, 
recently  become  her  head-servant.  He  wins  her  heart.  She, 
intensely  happy  in  her  new  experience,  believes  her  lover 
implicitly  till  the  Pfarrer  tells  her  of  the  girl  at  Abtsdorf 
with  a  child,  which  is  Leonhardt's.  Immediately  she 
makes  the  journey  there,  and  finds  the  girl  and  the  child. 
She  defends  Leonhardt  whenever  he  is  attacked  in  any 
way  by  the  girl,  Therese,  though  in  her  heart  she  feels  that 
the  charges  are  true. 

She  returns  home  disappointed  because  her  newly- 
found  lover  has  deceived  her.  Yet,  prompted  by  love,  she 
determines  to  give  himi  one  more  chance  to  tell  her  the 
truth.  They  meet,  and  she  asks  him  if  he  ever  loved  an- 
other, hoping  that  he  will  tell  her  the  truth,  but  he 
replies :  "Keiner  andern.''  Then  she,  with  great  feeling, 
says :  "Was  ftir  'ne  Straf '  soil  darauf  stehen,  Leonhardt, 
wenn  du  gelogen  hast?''  The  answer  comes  back  imme- 
diately :  "Soil  der  Tod  darauf  stehen."  On  the  impulse 
of  the  minute,  she  acts  on  the  suggestion  of  those  last 
words,  and  sends  him  over  the  lake  for  fish,  in  the  face  of 
an  approaching  storm.  ^ 

The  following  scenes  of  her  repentance ;  of  her  actions 
ais  she  imagines  him  perishing,  the  victim  of  the  waves;  of 
her  joy  at  his  safe  return;  and  then  of  the  ruling  power 


5(1  Anzengruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character 

of  her  will  over  her  feelings  as  she  sends  him  from  her  out 
into  the  world :  show  a  masterful  understanding  of  human 
character  as  it  exists  in  a  mature  woman  of  strong  will 
power. 

.  The  Einsam,  in  his  development,  is  a  valuable  char- 
acter for  psychological  study.  Another  powerfully  drawn 
personage  of  this  type  is  the  Meineidbauer,  as  his  purpose 
gradually  settles  around  the  idea  of  material  wealth,  and 
his  nature  develops  in  harshness  and  unjust  determina- 
tion, the  result  of  his  first  dishonest  act :  the  denial  of  the 
existence  of  the  will.  In  time,  he  becomes  willing  to 
destroy  his  own  son  to  save  himself.  "Wir  besitzen  nicht 
viele  Charaktere  in  unserer  dramatischen  Literatur,  die 
an  psychologischer  Tiefe,  an  Rundheit,  an  sicherer  Gegen- 
wart  diesem  Meineidbauer  gleichkiimen/'  ^ 

The  change  which  came  over  Florian  Weninger,  a 
cheerful,  kind-hearted  man,  when  he  lost  his  lover,  Magda- 
lena,  is  a  marked  example  of  Anzengruber's  knowledge  of 
man.  But  in  his  novel,  Der  Bternsteinhof ,  he  has  appar- 
ently taken  his  characters  from  actual  life,  and  transferred 
them  to  that  interesting  story.  Each  character  is  inter- 
esting, but  the  one  personage  who  surpasses  all  the  rest 
is  Helene. 

When  a  little  child,  sitting  in  front  of  her  mother's 
miserable  little  home,  she  had  watched  the  setting  sun 
cast  its  last  rays  upon  the  Stemsteinhof  on  the  heights 
above.  Then  she  had  longed  to  be  there,  and  the  longing 
increased  until  it  became  the  one  purpose  of  her  life. 
She  won  the  love  of  Toni,  the  Stemsteinhof bauer's  son; 
she  afterw^ard  refused  the  money  which  the  old  Bauer 
offered  her  for  her  lost  honor;  she  even  spat  in  contempt 
in  the  face  of  Toni  when  he  marched  away  to  serve  his 
years  in  military  training. 

Afterward  she  married  Muckerl  Kleebinder,  a  weak 
man  physically,  to  save  her  good  name.  When  Toni 
returned  from  his  service  in  the  army,  and  in  compliance 


(1.)     R.  M.  Meyer,  page  672. 


Anzengruher^s  Pcyrtrayal  of  Character  57 

with  the  demands  of  his  father  married  Sali  Kasbienii ar- 
tel, her  plans  seemed  to  have  failed.  But,  no.  Sali  became 
an  invalid  as  the  result  of  childbirth,  and  Helene  and  Toni 
met  each  other  often  in  a  clandestine  manner.  Finally, 
Muckerl,  her  husband,  died,  his  death  being  hastened  by 
his  wife's  coldness  toward  him. 

Then  Helene  was  taken  to  Sternsteinhof  by  Toni,  as 
a  nurse  of  Sali.  The  recoonition  by  the  latter  of  the  fact 
that  Helene,  a  beautiful,  healthy  woman,  was  her  rival, 
brought  on  her  early  death.  In  a  short  time  after  her 
death,  Toni  and  Helene  were  married,  and  Helene  had 
reached  the  goal  of  her  ambition.  No  character  of  more 
fascinating  interest  can  be  found,  and  she  is  true  to 
Anzengruber's  naturalistic-realism.  Bartels  says  of  the 
novel :  "Aber  dieser  Koman  ist  mit  bewunderungswtir- 
diger  psychologisclier  Kunst  durchgefiihrt,  es  ist  ein 
Werk,  das  man  den  grossen  psychologischen  Romanen  der 
modemen  europaischen  Bertihmtheiten  an  Bedeutung 
recht  wohl  an  die  Seite  stellen  kann."  ^  And  R.  M. 
Meyer  says  of  the  character,  Helene:  "Der  Oharakter 
der  Heldin  wtirde  allein  gentigen,  um  Anzengruber  in  die 
Reihe  unserer  grosst^n  Psychologen  zu  stellen."  ^ 

The  examples  given  are  tlie  most  important  and 
prominent  instances  of  genuine  psychological  characters 
to  be  found  in  his  works.  Every  personage  in  his  produc- 
tions, however,  bears  the  same  stamp  of  faithfulness  to 
actuality.  Though  the  poet  worked  according  to  the 
models  fashioned  in  his  own  mind,  rather  than  from  direct 
observation,  yet  his  knowledge  of  human  nature  made  him 
almost  unerring  in  the  concrete  results  of  those  ideas  as 
represented  by  his  characters. 

Joined  with  that  feeling  for  the  psychology  of  his 
characters  was  the  equally  exact  judgment-  as  to  what 
would  harmonize  with  the  specific  environment.  He  was 
exact  in  his  recognition  of  the  influence  of  environment 
upon  a  character.     Never  does  one  of  his  peasants  speak 


(1.)     Bartels,  page  620. 

(2.)     R.  M.  Meyer,  page  677. 


58  Anzengruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character 

other  than  as  a  peasant.  All  of  the  traditions,  prejudices, 
and  false  ethical  interpretations  of  right  and  wrong,  as 
they  existed  in  the  peasant  class,  appear  here  and  there 
in  the  actions  of  his  character.  His  language  has  the 
roughness  and  naivete  of  his  peasant  life;  his  jokes  are 
the  puns  of  their  gatherings,  understood  by  all  of  his 
companions. 

They  are  the  expressions  used  in  their  every  day  life, 
i.  e.,  in  their  work.  The  Grasbodenbauer,  in  reprimand- 
ing his  daughter,  Burgerl,  says  to  her:  "Vermaledeiter 
Saufratz.''  '^  It  would  sound  entirely  out  of  place  if 
such  a  remark  had  been  made  by  a  cultured  father  to  his 
daughter,  but  to  the  Bauer  it  was  a  natural  phrase  to 
use.  Again,  Kohlenbrenner-Tomerl  (^8  Jtmgferngift) 
makes  a  characteristic  remark  to  Kasi)er:  ^^D'  arme 
Dummheit  bleibt  versteckt  und  im  Schatten  macht  der 
grosste  Ochs  kein  so  a  Ansehn  wie  's  Kailbel  in  der  Sunn','' 
and  later,  in  the  same  scene,  as  Kasper  is  about  to  leave: 
"Aber  a  Wartl  nebenher,  Kasper.  D'  Wochen  fahr'  ich  mit 
Kohlen  in  d'  Stadt.  Kinnst  mer  bis  dahin  a  acht  Gulden 
leihen?"  Kasper:  "Leihen?"  Tomerl :  "Na  siehst,  mir 
scheint,  bis  in  'n  Sack  langt  dein  Glauben  a  nit."  ^ 

Scene  after  scene,  with  expressions  just  as  natural 
and  characteristic,  might  be  cited,  but  they  would  only 
add  to  the  number  already  given  without  proving  any- 
thing ncAv.  On  the  other  hand,  it  will  be  necessary,  also, 
to  give  a  couple  of  examples  to  show  these  peasants' 
interpretation  of  right  and  wrons:,  in  accordance  with  the 
letter  of  the  ethical  law,  rather  than  the  spirit  of  that  law. 
The  ^leineidbauer  says  to  Franz  in  his  disappointment  at 
finding  that  the  latter  is  determined  not  to  be  a  priest: 
"Ich  hab's  ja  seit  damol  neamand  anvertrau'n  konnen, 
was  nur  Avir  zwei  auf  der  Welt  wissen  und  unser  Herr  da 
droben — verstehst,  Franz,  wie  das  druckt,  wie  a  Miihlstein 
liegt's  auf  mir  und  nilchtij?  glaub'  ich  oft,  ich  Averd' 
irrsinnig,  wann   ich   denk',  ich   hab's  Abendmahl   so  oft 


(1.)     Der  Schandfleck,  page  257. 

(2.)     'S  Jungferngift,  Act  3,  Scene  1. 


Anzengruhvr's  Portrayal  of  Character  59 

g'nommen  und  davon  nie  etwas  'beicht.  Franz,  's  keiner 
auf  der  Welt,  deia  icli's  nit  z'  sagen  braucli'  und  der  doch 
davon  weiss,  wie  du — du  bist  der  einzige,  der  mich  ohne 
Ked'  und  Gegenred'  entstindig'n,  der  mir  in  meiner  letzten 
Not  eimnal  die  Stind'  aussegnen  kann."  ^ 

A  similar  manner  of  such  a  stereotyped  manner  of 
looking  at  problems  of  that  sort  is  found  in  Der  8terfh- 
steinhof.  Helene  and  her  mother  have  gone  up  to  the 
Sternsteinhof  to  demand  of  the  Bauer  that  his  son  marry 
Helene,  and  save  her  from  shame.  The  girl  carries  in 
her  hand  a  written  promise,  written  and  signed  by  Toni, 
to  the  effect  that  he  will  marry  her.  She  shows  this  paper 
to  the  Bauer,  Avith  the  words:  ^'Schau;  was  ich  schriftlich 
von  ilim  hab'."  The  Bauer  answers:  "'s  hat  kein  Giltig- 
keit,''  and  later,  as  he  tears  up  the  written  promise :  "Da 
sieht  man,  was  dabei,  h'rauskommt,  wenn  Bub'n,  kaum 
aus  der  Schul,'  sich  in  solche  Sachen  einlassen.  Lass  dir 
dein  Lehrgeld  z'rtickgeb'n.  Schreibst  du,  seinzeit  und 
sollt'st  doch  Avissen,  dass's  nach  der  Schrift,  seiner  Zeit^ 
heissen  muss."  ^ 

The  fact  that  his  son  had  given  his  word  to  do  a 
certain  thing  had  no  value  in  the  eyes  of  the  old  man,  so 
long  as  that  son  had  not  attained  his  majority.  To  him 
it  Avas  not  ethically  Avrong  to  declare  that  promise  null 
and  void,  though  the  girl  was  left  in  disgrace  as  a  result. 


(1.)     Der  Meineidbauer,  Act  2,  Scene  3. 
(2.)     Der  Sternsteinhof,  page  115. 


Chapter  V. 

Anzengruher^s  Field  and  Motive. 

In  subject  matter,  Anzengruber  was  limited,  the 
characters  which  he  successfully  handled  were  representa- 
tives of  the  common  people.  Even  this  field  he  worked 
with  greater  acquaintance  and  power  when  he  pictured 
the  lives  and  problems  of  the  peasants  of  his  own  country, 
rather  than  those  of  the  neighboring  Switzerland. 
Another  field  with  which  he  was  thoroughly  acquainted, 
and  the  life  of  whose  people  he  represented  with  success, 
was  the  suburbs  ( Vorstadte)  of  Vienna.  Tliree  of  his  plays 
have  their  setting  in  those  Vorstadte.^  Here,  as  in  his 
Bauernstilcke,  he  never  attempts  to  give  form  to  the  life 
and  habits  of  any  but  the  common  people. 

In  the  fragment  of  the  tragedy,  Bertha  von  Frank- 
rcich,  we  find  Anzengruber  digressing  from  his  regular 
path  of  activity.  In  this  play  a  queen  is  one  of  the  chief 
characters,  but,  since  only  one  act  was  ever  written,  we 
need  not  seriously  regard  this  wandering  from  his  ordi- 
nary field.  Flfriede,  the  little  "Schauspiel,"  as  the  author 
calls  it,  pictures  the  scene  of  a  husband  and  wife  of  the 
middle  class;  and  here,  also,  the  two  principal  characters, 
Elfriede  and  Gustav  Wellenberg,  are  rather  vague  and 
uncertain  in  outline.  They  are  not  to  be  compared  with 
such  personages  as  the  Meineidbauer,  Steinklopferhanns, 
Helene  of  Der  Sternsteinhof ,  or  the  Trutzige :  those  char- 
acters so  true  to  life. 

Anzengruber's  real  service  to  German  Literature  was 
to  give  to  it  the  true  Volksstuck,  where  the  peasant  appears 
not  as  a  Hanswurst,  but  as  a  genuine,  human  personage, 
reflecting  the  problems  of  actual  life.  Here  the  author 
was  at  home,  and  it  is  from  this  side  that  he  appears 
in  his  full  strength.    As  Servaes  puts  its :    "Er  war  nichts 

(1.)     Heimg'funden,  Das  vierte  Gebot,  Alte  Wiener. 


Anzengriiher^s  Portrayal  of  Character  61 

anderes  und  Avollte  nichts  anderes  sein  als  ein  eclites 
Volkskind.  Seine  besten  Sachen  dichtete  er  in  der 
lieimaitlichen  Mnndart.  Heimatliche  Begrenzung  bedeuet 
in  der  Kunst  nicht  eine  Beschrankung,  sondern  eine 
Bekraftignng."  ^  And  in  the  same  strain  run  the 
words  of  his  biographer,  Dr.  Friedmann:  "Sein  Gebiet, 
auf  dein  er  init  Selbstherrlichkeit  waltet,  ist  das  Volks- 
sttick,  Oder  noch  genaur,  das  Bauemsttick.  Er  hat  diese 
Gattung  zu  litterarischer  Ehre  erhoben.  Er  wurzelt  fest 
im  Boden  des  osterreichischen  Dorfes.  Und  sobald  er  ihn 
Terlasst,  verliert  er  wie  der  Riese  Antaus,  seine  Kraft.-'  ^ 

Anzengruber  was  the  founder  of  the  genuine  Volks- 
sttick.  Others  had  Avritten  Volksstticke,  but  rather  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  amusement,  and  nothing  else  to  the 
observer,  than  as  a  means  of  bringing  before  the  world 
the  problems  of  the  characters  whose  station  of  life  was 
shown.  Their  motives  were  different  from  those  of  the 
man,  the  subject  of  our  study.  He  saw  the  life  of  the 
peasant  and  of  the  people  about  Vienna  in  its  true  light. 
And  in  that  light,  unchanged  by  attempts  at  coloring,  he 
nought  to  represent  it.  In  the  words  of  Robert  Proelss: 
^^Nun  in  Ludwig  Anzengruber — erwuchs  dem  Volksstuck 
wieder  ein  bedeutendes  Talent,  das  sich  aber  auf  einem 
ganz  anderen  Boden,  der  Dorf-geschichte,  und  in  einer 
ganz  anderen  Richtung,  der  social-tendenziosen,  psycho- 
logisch  vertieften  Sittenschilderung  bewegt,  und,  wenn 
auch  nicht  ohne  Humor,  doch  von  einem;  durchaus  ernsten 
Charakter  ist."  ^  "Anzengruber's  Yerdienst  ist  nun, 
das  Bauernsttick  geschaffen  und  zu  kunstlerischer  Wtirde 
erhoben  zu  haben."  ^  And  Adolf  Bartels  says :  "Anzen- 
gruber, der  Schopfer  des  Bauern dramas."  ^ 

If  Anzengruber's  motives  in  showing  to  the  reader 
or  observer  the  peasant,  or  the  character  from  the  common 
walks  of  suburban  life,  were  different  from  those  of  other 


(1.)  Servaes,  page  22. 

(2.)  Dr.  Friedmann:     Anzengruber,  page  91. 

(3.)  Page  227. 

(4.)  Friedmann,  D.  D.  Drama,  page  149. 

(5.)  Page  463. 


62  Anzengruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character 

writers  of  that  time  and  before,  the  question  is,  what 
were  his  motives?  At  the  close  of  his  novel,  Der  Stern- 
steinhofy  is  found  the  key  to  that  question.  He  realized 
that  many  might  ask:  why  is  a  selfish  character  like 
Helene,  who  had  allowed  nothing  to  stand  between  her 
and  her  ambition,  pictured  as  she  is  at  the  close  of  the 
story?  The  story  closes  with  Helene,  her  desires  attained, 
represented  as  living  happy  and  prosperous,  looked  up  to 
by  all  the  people  in  the  country  about  the  Sternsteinhof. 
The  answer  wliicli  Anzengruber  gives  to  this  may  be 
taken,  it  seems  to  the  writer,  as  the  key  to  the  general 
question :  what  Avere  his  motives  for  writing  as  lie  did? 
Warum  erzahlt  man  solclie  Geshichten,  die  nur  aufweisen, 
wie  es  im  Leben  zugeht? — es  geschieht  dies  nicht  in  dem 
einfaltigen  Glauben,  dass  dadurch  Bauern  als  Leser  zu 
gewinnen  waren,  noch  in  der  spekulativen  Absicht,  einer 
mehr  und  mehr  die  ^lode  kommenden  Kichtung  zu  huldi- 
gen,  sondern  lediglich  aus  dem  Grunde,  weil  der  einoje- 
schrankte  Wirkungskreis  des  landlichen  Lebens  die  Char- 
aktere  Aveniger  in  ihrer  Natilrlichkeit  und  TTrsprtinglich- 
keit  beeinflusst."  ^ 

His  purpose  Avas  to  picture  for  his  readers  and 
hearers,  "Wie  es  im  Leben  zugeht."  He  had  seen  many 
cases,  no  doubt,  where  some  person  Avas  living  in  the 
enjoyment  of  this  world's  material  blessings,  for  the 
acquirement  of  which  others  had  been  crushed :  and  tlie 
story  of  Helene  Avas  the  result  of  that  observation.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  had  met  persons  Avhose  greed  for 
property  led  them  to  dishonesty,  and  later  to  their  final 
ruin,  and  we  need  but  turn  our  attention  to  the  masterful 
character,  the  Meineidbauer,  to  see  this  scene  of  life 
depicted.  Through  the  characters,  the  Einsam,  Florian 
Weninger,  and  Steinklopferhanns,  are  brought  forAvard 
the  lives  of  those  thoughtlessly  led  into  tliis  world  as 
the  consequences  of  unnatural  social  conditions,  many 
examples  of  which  he  had  seen  or  knew  to  exist  among  the 


(1.)     Der  Sternsteinhof,  page  287. 


Anzefigr liber's  Portrayal  of  Character  63 

people  whose  lives  his  plays  were  to  represent.  Instances 
of  an  old  father,  or  an  old  mother,  being  almost  deserted 
by  sons  and  daughters  likewise  had  come  to  his 
notice,  and  the  concrete  result  is  found  in  the  close  of  the 
life  of  Keindorfer  in  Der  Schandfleck.  He  had  seen  chil- 
dren forced  into  distasteful  and  unnatural  marriages,  thus 
we  have  the  drama,  Das  vierte  Gehot.  So  individual 
characters,  one  after  another,  might  be  mentioned,  each 
showing  some  special  phase  of  life.  His  motive,  then, 
was  to  represent  actual  life,  and  from  its  dark  as  well 
as  from  its  bright  side.  He  never  could  give  to  one  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  his  characters  the  idea  that  he 
was  a  pessimist,  but  only  the  impression  that  he  was  a 
naturalistic-realist,  in  the  earlier  meaning  of  that  term. 
He  painted  conditions  as  they  appeared  to  him :  thus  we 
have  both  pessimistic  and  optimistic  characters  in  his 
productions.  His  view  of  the  world's  progress  was  opti- 
mistic, and  is  voiced  in  Vroni's  Avords  to  her  lover,  Franz : 
"Franz,  wenn  d'  wieder  frisch  bist,  geht  mit  mir  in  die 
Berg',  und  A^on  der  hochst'  Spitz'  woll'n  wir  'naus 
jauchsen  ins  Land.  Aus  is  's  und  vorbei  is  's,  do  sein 
neue  Lent'  und  die  Welt  fangt  erst  an."  ^ 

As  a  general  survey  is  taken  of  Anzengruber's  char- 
acters, the  observer  cannot  help  but  be  impressed  by 
the  unwavering  manner  in  which  they  all  stand  true  to 
that  one  thought.  Each  personage  is  a  part  of  life  itself, 
and  in  a  very  few  cases  are  the  salient  points  in  the  life 
of  tlie  character  exaggerated  in  order  to  make  them  stand 
out  in  relief,  as  it  were.  Der  Pfarrer  von  Kirchfeld  is 
idealized  to  some  extent,  yet  about  him  there  is  that 
atmosphere  of  reality  thoroughly  characteristic  of  Anzen- 
gruber.  If  he  does  exaggerate,  or  idealize  at  all,  it  is 
usually  in  his  comedy,  and  always  rather  in  the  general 
situations  than  in  the  individual  character. 

Now,  it  was  in  the  life  of  the  peasant  especially  that 
he  found  those  various  impulses  of  the  human  soul  show- 


(1.)     Der  Meineidbauer,  Act  3,  Scene  6. 


64  Anzengruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character 

ing  forth  most  clearly.  In  city  life,  everywhere  among 
the  higher  classes^,  in  fact,  the  same  feelings  Avere  the 
impelling  factors  for  exactly  similar  acts,  in  their  essence ; 
but  the  acts  themselves,  and  the  results,  were  more  hidden 
by  the  complexity  of  that  life's  activities.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  the  simple  life  of  the  plebeian  class  near  Vienna 
and  among  the  peasants,  there  was  retained  to  a  much 
greater  degree  that  original  naturalness  of  action,  which 
had  long  since  been  forgotten  or  become  hidden  among 
the  higher  social  classes.  Men  and  women  moved  in 
response  to  suggestion,  less  hampered  by  external,  arti- 
ficial laws.  Love  and  hatred,  envy  and  goodwill,  selfish 
greed  and  unselfish  helpfulness,  were  expressed  almost  as 
felt.  As  Anzengruber  remarks  in  the  last  words  of  Der 
Htcrnstcinliof :  "Wie  denn  auch  in  den  iiltesten,  einf achen, 
wirksamsten  Geschichten  die  Helden  und  Ftirsten  Her- 
denztichter  und  Grrossgrundbesitzer  waren  und  Sauhirten 
ihre  Hausminister  und  Kanzler.''  ^ 

Anzengruber  was  not  the  first  writer  to  use  the  cus- 
toms and  environment  of  the  peasant  as  the  setting  for 
his  literar}^  work.  Raimund,  Friedrich  Kaisar,  and 
Nestroy,  and  Mosenthal  had  all  used  material  from  the 
same  source,  or  were  doing  so  at  the  time  of  his  active 
period.  Also,  Auerbach  in  his  stories  had  depicted  this 
peasant  life.  Anzengruber  was  influenced  by  those  men 
to  some  extent,  and,  perhaps,  most  by  Auerbach :  though 
the  latter  was  highly  idealistic,  and  Anzengruber  was  just 
as  much  realistic  in  his  method  of  treatment.  He  was 
not  a  follo^^  or  of  any  other  person's  style  to  any  appre- 
ciable degree.  Through  his  pen  the  peasant  was  freed 
from  the  fantastic,  comic  character,  heretofore  his  dress 
in  all  literary  work,  and  set  forth  in  his  natural  environ- 
ment. Sometimes  he  appears  with  sufjerstitions  and 
prejudices,  with  ideas  of  right  and  wrong,  interpreted  to 
the  letter  rather  than  to  the  spirit.  He  comes  on  the 
stage  in  the  midst  of  his  daily  work,  busy  with  the  com- 


(1.)     Page  288. 


Anzengriibefs  Portrayal  of  Character  65 

mon  duties  of  a  peasant  life.  All  of  the  bri^rbt  and  all 
of  the  dark  side  of  that  life  is  shown,  intermingled  as  it 
is  in  the  world  of  reality.  Here  we  have  a  scene  of  fun 
and  frolic  in  the  Inn,  and,  directly  following,  we  have  a 
highly  tragic  occurrence,  such  as  the  death  of  the  old  man, 
Brenniger,  in  Die  Krcuzelschreiber. 

Anzengruber  was  a  realist,  and  Avith  a  strong  ten- 
dency toward  naturalism.  By  naturalism  is  not  meant 
that  naturalism,  so  called,  of  later  German  writers,  which 
it  were  more  correct  to  designate  as  unnaturalism ;  i.  e., 
that  naturalism  which  consists  in  portraying  unnatural, 
pathological  conditions  exactly  as  they  exist. 

Anzengruber's  naturalism  is  of  the  earlier  type,  hence 
more  nearly  allied  to  realism.  He  depicted  life,  giving  gen- 
eral pathological  conditions  if  they  Avere  present;  but  his 
characters,  with  a  very  few  exceptions,  are  strong  men  and 
women,  not  representatives  of  a  degenerate  class  as  are 
found  in  the  productions  of  Hauptmann,  and  others.  If 
he  did  represent  such  characters  as  the  personages,  Leuten- 
berger-Urban  and  Gorg  Friedner,  he  did  so  hesitatingly, 
and,  in  each  case,  sought  to  give  them  some  grains  of 
goodness.  The  Einsam  in  Btahl  und  ^tein^  and  Josepha 
in  Das  vierte  Gehot,  show  to  us  the  results  of  pathological 
conditions  of  society,  but  they,  as  individuals,  are  strong 
characters.  The  scene  between  Josepha  and  Johann 
brings  that  out  so  well  when  she  says:  "Ich  denk'  gar 
nimmer  ans  Heiraten ;  ftir  ein  Brayen  war'  ich  a  Ungltick 
und  ein'  Schlechton  mocht'  ich  selber  nit."  And  a  little 
later:  "Wann  S'  aber  amal  hor'n,  ^ass  ich  g'storb'n  bin, 
dann  kommen  S'  zu  meiner  Leich', — g'wiss — damit  doch 
ein  ehrlicher  ^lensch  dabei  is,  's  andere  wird  eh'  lauter 
G'lumpert  sein."  ^ 

He  has  been  accused  of  being  a  pessimist,  but,  as 
Pollak  says:  "Anzengruber's  realism  captivated  the 
world  as  Auerbach's  idealism  had  captivated  it  thirty 
years  before.  Shadows  predominate  in  the  greatest  dramas 
of  the  Austrian  as  does  Sunshine  in  the  poet  of  the  Black 


(1.)     Das  vierte  Gebot,  Act  3,  Scene  4, 


66  Anzengruhers  Portrayal  of  Character 

Forest ;  and  yet  no  one  who  has  seen  or  read  of  Anzen- 
gruber's  masterpieces  can  deny  that  he  caught  the  poetry 
of  peasant  life  as  fully  as  he  grasped  its  realism,  and  that 
his  sense  of  humor  was  as  keen  as  his  pathos  was 
deep."  ^ 

If  he  painted  many  scenes  of  life  somewhat  dark,  it 
was  because  they  existed  thus.  ^'Von  der'  Kunst  der 
Idealismus'  macht  er  fast  nie,  und  wenn  einmal,  so  nur 
in  dezen tester  Weise,  Gebrauch.  Hier  (Der  Sternstein- 
hof )  leben  besonders  die  Menschen  in  Gutem  und  Bosem 
so  ungeniert,  dass  man  die  Empfindung  hat,  der  Dichter 
habe  auf's  Geratewohl  ein  Sttick  aus  der  Welt  herausge- 
schnitten."  -  So  are  found  scenes  in  every  one  of  his 
works  so  true  to  reality  that  the  characters  are  recognized 
by  the  reader  or  spectator  as  genuine  acquaintances. 

Anzengruber  brings  forward  his  personages  un- 
changed from  their  natural  environment.  All  of  his  best 
characters  speak  a  dialect,  using  idioms  almost  impossible 
to  literar}^  German.  Thus  he  raises  Austrian  dialect 
German  to  a  higher  plane  by  putting  it  into  the  mouths 
of  his  strongest  and  most  prominent  characters.  He  leads 
it  from  the  limited  use  of  the  clown,  of  the  burlesque, 
out  into  a  wider  field.  He  gives  back  to  it  the  natural 
charm  and  dignity  which  every  dialect  should  possess, 
from  the  very  fact  that  it  represents  the  live  language  of  a 
certain  district,  and  has  assimilated  in  its  idiom  many  a 
picture  of  past  fancy  and  reality. 

(1.)     Pollak,  page  22. 

(2.)     Otto  Ernst,  page  216. 


Chapter  VI. 

Conclusion. 

In  conclusion,  as  a  result  of  this  study  of  Anzen- 
gruber's  characters,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  are 
brought  before  the  reader,  we  must  regard  him  as  a  skilled 
dramatist.  Sometimes  one  of  his  plays,  considered  as  a 
whole,  is  dramatically  faulty.  For  example.  Das  vierte 
Gehot  has  the  threads  of  three  quite  unrelated  tragic 
events  .  One  is  the  marriage  of  Hedwig  to  the  "verlebte'' 
Stolzenthaler,  and  its  tragic  results;  a  second  is  the 
gradual  corrupting  of  the  morals  of  Josepha,  principally 
through  the  agency  of  this  same  Stolzenthaler,  and  her 
parents,  till  she  has  tasted  deeply  of  vice,  and  can  say 
to  Hedwig :  "Wir  sind  ja  docli  zwei  verkaufte."  ^  The 
third  tragic  theme  is  the  tragic  life  of  Martin,  culminating 
in  the  murder  of  Frey,  and  the  resultant  death  punish- 
ment of  ^lartin.  Individually  considered,  however,  those 
same  personages  are  shaped  by  a  master  hand.  They  are 
true  to  themselves  as  influenced  by  their  environment. 

None  of  Anzengruber's  characters,  if  we  except 
Pfarrer  Hell,  could  be  taken  as  an  ideal,  because  they  only 
represent  persons  of  ordinary  moral  stamina,,  battling 
against  the  temptations  common  to  their  natural  sur- 
roundings. In  that  everyday  world,  however,  he  luis  been 
able  to  depict  almost  every  phase  of  emotional  and  pas- 
sionate action.  At  one  time  he  cliarms  his  reader  or 
hearer  by  the  quiet  and  peace  of  the  picture:  as  tlie  Sun- 
day-morning scene  between  Vroni  and  the  Grossknecht, 
her  mother's  old  lover,  in  the  opening  act  of  Der  Melncid- 
haiirr;  and,  at  another  time,  he  makes  the  blood  fairly 
tingle  by  presenting  a  scene  filled  with  intense  excitement 
and  uncontrollable  passion,  as  when  the  ^Feineidbauer, 
nearly  crazed  at  Franz's  refusal  to  give  back  the  desired 


(1.)     Das  vierte  Gebot,  Act  4,  Scene  4. 


08  Anzcn(jruhefs  Portrayal  of  VJiaracter 

letter,  shoots  that  son,  and  watches  him  fall  into  the  little 
mountain  torrent,  with  the  remark:  ''Tief  liegt  er  jetzt 
imt' — der  Wildbach  reisst  ilin  mit.'^  ^ 

Again,  he  knows  how  to  picture  the  first  love  passion 
of  a  mature  woman  in  the  person  of  Agnes  Bernhofer. 
"Ich  niocht'  ^ern,  dass  du  niir  keinen  (Vorwurf)  machst. 
Es  ist  eigen,  es  war  eine  Launigkeit  von  mir.  Seit  meine 
Eltern  verstorben  sind,  zehn  Jahre  sind's  her,  hat  mir 
niemand  gesagt,  dass  er  mich  lieb  hatt' — ich  wollt's 
wieder  einmal  horen."  ^  Then,  as  her  lover  leaves  her : 
''Sauber  ist  mein  Schatz,  und  die  Welt  gerat't  ilim  nach, 
Avie  heut'  alles  freundlich  ist.  Es  ist  eigen,  doch  gar  eigen, 
's  erste  Mai  in  mein'  Leben  verspiir'  ich  jetzt,  dass  ich 
Weib  bin — ^mein  Gott — und  es  geschieht  mir  nit  hart 
dabei."  ^ 

In  the  next  picture  we  have  an  equally  true  scene 
of  her  soul  anguish,  because  she  thinks  her  lover,  now 
proved  false,  has  perished  in  the  lake  as  a  result  of  her 
own  designs.  "Wie  es  heraufweht  vom  See — ^^'ust — es 
liegt  eine  Leiche — (Mondschein  fallt  in  das  Zimmer; 
fSllitdie  Hande).  O  du  lieber  Mondschein,  Avie  siehst 
mich  heut',  gar  anders  als  gestern,  hiltt'st  dir's  nit  gedacht. 
Wie  war  mir  sonst  immer  so  leicht  ums  Herz,  bis  heut. 
(AVirft  sich  auf  die  Knee)  O,  himmlischer  Yater,  Avenn 
mir's  nun  jenials  wieder  so  werden  konnt'."  ^ 

In  Die  Kreuzclschreiher  he  portrays  the  tragic  lone- 
liness and  misery  of  the  aged  Brenniger,  Avho,  through 
the  action  of  the  Avomen,  as  urged  on  by  the  priests,  is 
separated  from  his  Avife,  his  companion  for  fifty  years. 
" — nah'  zu  fufzig  Jahr  haus'  ich  hitzt  schon  mit  meiner 
Annerl,  und  Avann  man  so  viel  Kinder — lass  schau'n — 
sieben  Stuck— die  Mirzl— D'  Kosl— 'n  Sepp— und  ^s 
erste — weiss  nimmer  Avie  dos  glieissen  hat — ja,,  ja— sieben 
in  Freud'  und  Leid  auf  'zogen  hatt,  und  muss  dann  sehn, 


(1  )  Der  Meineidbaiier,  Act  2,  Scene  10. 

(2.)  Der  ledige  Hof,  Act  1,  Scene  7. 

(3.)  Der  ledige  Hof,  Act  1,  Scene  8. 

(4.)  Der  ledige  Hof,  Act  3,  Scene  6. 


Anzcngruher^s  Fot'trayal  of  Character  G9 

eins  nacli  'm  andem  'naus-trag'n  auf  'n  Gottesacker — ja, 
do  g'wolmt  man  sich  sclion  ins  Alleinsein  uns  scliickt  sich 
eins  vollig  ins  andere.  Ich  hon  eh'  nix  mehr  z'  suclien  auf 
derer  Welt.  Und  mein'  Ordnung  lion  ich  a  nimmer — und 
wo  ich  mein'  Ordnung  nit  hab'.'' 

From  the  most  cheerful  to  the  pessimistic;  from  the 
child  to  the  old  man  or  woman;  from,  the  young  lovers 
to  the  lovers  of  fifty  years,  he  was  ahle  to  create  characters 
true  to  life,  and  scenes  true  to  his  characters.  As  one 
reviews  the  scenes  in  which  Gorg  Friedner,  then  Pfarrer 
Hell,  then  the  scheming  Dusterer,  then  the  selfish  Meineid- 
bauer,  or  the  ambitious  Helene  appear,  he  begins  to 
realize  the  poet's  power  in  i>ortraying  character.  If  he 
still  continues  to  call  to  mind  various  personages,  and 
lets  each  live  his  life;  if  he  hears  the  pessimistic  remark 
of  Hauderer  of  Doppelselbstmord:  "Es  is  a  dummheit," 
or  the  stereotyped,  ^'Beispielmiissig"  of  Dusterer;  and, 
later,  the  cheerful  words  of  Steinklopferhanns :  "Du 
g'horst  zu  dem  alPn  und  dos  alF  g'hort  zu  dir.  Es  kann 
dir  nix  g'schehn,"  the  full  range  of  Anzengruber's  ability 
to  represent  human  activities  and  human  character 
becomes  apparent.  He  busied  himself  with  a  rather  limited 
world,  but  in  that  world  he  was  acquainted  with  every 
inhabitant,  and  wrote  their  experiences  true  to  reality. 
He  caused  his  personages  to  live  out  before  his  reader  or 
observer:     "Wie  es  im  Leben  zugeht." 


Anzengruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character 


Bibliography. 

Ludwig  Anzengruber,  Gesammelte  Werke  in  zelin 
Banden,  Dritte  durchgesehene  Anflage.     Stuttgart,  1897. 

Adolf  Bartels;  Gescliichte  der  Deutschen  Literatur. 
Zweiter  Band.    Leipzig,  1905. 

Anton  Bettelheim;  Anzengruber:  Der  ^lann — Sein 
Werk — Seine  Weltanschauung,    Berlin,  1898. 

J.  J.  David;  Anzengruber.  Die  Diehtung,  Heraus- 
gegeben  von  Paul  Bemer.     Band  II.     Berlin  und  Leipzig. 

Otto  Ernst;  Buch  der  Hoffnung.  Band  I.  Hamburg, 
1890. 

Dr.  Sigismund  Friedmann;  Ludwig  Anzengruber. 
Leipzig,  1902. 

Dr.  Sigismund  Friedmann;  Das  deutsche  Drama  des 
Neunzehnten  Jalirhunderts  in  sein  Hauptvertretern.  Band 
11.     Leipzig,  1903. 

Budolf  von  Gottscball;  Die  doutsche  Nationalliterii 
tur  des  neunzehnten  Jalirhunderts.  Band  III.  Breslau, 
1902. 

Richard  M.  Meyer;  Die  Deutsche  Litteratur  des 
Neunzehnten  Jahrhunderts.     Berlin,  1900. 

Gustav  Pollak;  Franz  Grillparzer  and  the  Austrian 
Drama,  New  York,  1907.    Chap.  II.    Ludwig  Anzengruber. 

Franz  Servaes;  Praeludien :  Ein  Essaybuch.  Berlin 
und  Leipzig,  1899. 

Life-Sketch. 

The  writer,  Emory  Nelson  Ferriss,  was  born  on  a 
farm  near  Toledo,  Iowa.  In  the  fall  of  1897  he  entered 
Western  College  Academy,  and,  in  1900,  he  began  a  col- 
legiate course  in  the  College  proper,  receiving  the  degree, 
Bachelor  of  Philosophy,  in  1904.  In  September,  1904,  he 
began  graduate  work  at  the  State  University  of  Iowa,  by 
which  institution  he  was  granted  the  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts  in  June,  1905.  During  the  year  of  1905-6,  he  was 
Scholar  in  German  in  the  State  University  of  Iowa,  and 


Anzemjruher^s  Portrayal  of  Character  71 

FelloAV  in  German  durino-  the  year  of  1907-8.  During  the 
year  of  1906-7,  he  Avas  Principal  of  the  High  School  at 
Pocatello,  Idaho. 

His  graduate  work  has  been  in  German  Literature, 
(lermanic  Philology,  and  Education. 

For  valuable  assistance  and  inspiration  throughout 
tlie  time  of  his  graduate  work,  the  writer  wishes  to 
express  his  great  indebtedness  to  the  following  persons: 
Professor  Charles  Bundy  Wilson,  Dr.  George  T.  Flom, 
Dr.  Frederick  Elmer  Bolton,  Dr.  Clarence  Willis  East- 
man, and  Professor  Frederick  Bernard  Sturm. 


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